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Data Centres

Specialist multi-disciplinary data centre lawyers advising on all aspects of hyperscale and edge data centres and related work including cloud services, innovative network and energy solutions and ESG considerations.

Image of the inside of a lareg data centre

Our multi-disciplinary data centre team supports clients across the data centre sector, from development and construction through to operation, financings and acquisitions and disposals.

At Burges Salmon, we understand the vital role of data centres and the need for a dedicated, collaborative, multi-disciplinary legal team with deep sector knowledge to advise on all aspects of data centres and data centre platforms.

Our specialist team comprising of corporate, tax, planning, real estate, energy, tech and IP, competition, construction and environment experts has been active in the data centre sector since its infancy and is renowned for its cutting-edge work in the sector from our offices in Bristol, London and Edinburgh.

Services

Project development

Advising on land agreements and site acquisition, planning matters and infrastructure agreements, environmental issues, construction and fit out contracts and the wider delivery of data centres.

Joint ventures

Advising on all kinds of joint venture and platform arrangements in relation to data centres and ancillary grid connection and energy solution arrangements.

Electricity supply and network solutions

Advising on the structing and delivery of innovative electricity supply and network solutions for data centres and related energy and carbon regulatory issues.

Heat networks and offtake solutions

Advising on heat network regulation in relation to data centres and on all types of heat network and offtake solutions and business cases.

Financings, Acquisitions and investments

Assisting developers, investors, and lenders on the acquisition, disposal and financing of data centres, data centre platforms, ancillary infrastructure and parties within the data centre supply chain.

Co-location, leasing and licensing

Advising clients across the sector on all types of co-location, leasing and licensing arrangements.

Customer agreements

Supporting on contracts for cloud services, AI demand, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.

ESG

Assisting on the full range of environmental, social and governance issues in relation to data centres.

Data Centre Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Enforcement

Advising clients on all types of procurement, construction, contractual and real estate disputes, as well as on regulatory enforcement by regulators.

Data and Cyber Security

Advising clients on all aspects of data protection and cyber security regulation, from simple ad hoc queries and analysis to advice on the development of data products and services, comprehensive risk mitigation strategies and breach response plans.

Merger Control and National Security

Assisting with merger control matters and the UK’s National Security and Investment Act 2021.

Examples of our work

Tritax Big Box REIT

Advised on the joint venture arrangements for 74-acre data centre site (147 MW) near Heathrow, including grid connections and private network solutions.

NTT Data Centers

Advising on UK power and network matters across multiple campuses, including London (64 MW), Hemel Hempstead (37.8 MW) and Slough (4.5 MW).

Tiger Infrastructure Partners

Advised on the acquisition of a majority stake in Stellium Datacenters and ongoing operational and investment matters in relation to Stellium data centre.

NIBC Bank

Advised on the financing of ServerFarm’s acquisition of 5NINES Global Holdings, a data centre transformation operator.

Data centre developers

Advised on the development and build out of hyperscale and edge data centres, including energy and network solutions and concessions, planning matters, construction contracts, joint venture arrangements and environmental issues.

Confidential Clients

Advising clients on the planning aspects of data centre developments, particularly where the development is proposed to be co-located with major energy production and/or storage capacity.

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Frequently asked questions

Key issues include securing electricity grid capacity, electricity supply and resilience arrangements, planning and land use, construction and supply chain risks, regulatory compliance, and structuring financing and joint ventures.

We act for developers, operators, investors, lenders, contractors, power producers and end-users, supporting projects from inception to operation and exit.

ESG considerations now drive demand for renewable energy, low-carbon power supply, heat network integration and regulatory compliance across data centres.