£6 million 'metro' data centre to open within Glasgow’s largest office building

A data centre firm is to open a £6 million facility within Glasgow’s largest single office building.

The new operation at 177 Bothwell Street will be Datavita’s second facility, adding to its acquisition of the Fortis data centre in Lanarkshire during 2021.

Located within 177 Bothwell Street, which is being developed by HFD Group, the 150-rack capacity facility will be Scotland’s first “metro” data centre. It will support occupiers in the vast building along with the wider business community in the city’s International Financial Services District (IFSD), and beyond.

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Located next to the BT Exchange, seen as the starting place for the internet in Scotland, the new facility will support the technology, financial services and fintech sectors, along with city centre projects such as the roll-out of 5G and internet of things (IoT) networks.

It is expected that the data centre will be operational by the third quarter of the year.

The addition of the facility will support 177 Bothwell Street’s ambition to be the most advanced office building in Scotland.

A large part of the development is pre-let to Virgin Money for its new headquarters, while Aecom, BNP Paribas, CBRE, Transport Scotland and HFD Group - including its flexible serviced offices offering, HFD Offices - will also take space in the building.

An independent economic impact assessment concluded that the 313,000-square foot development could generate some £2.8 billion of gross value added (GVA) to the Scottish economy over 25 years.

The 177 Bothwell Street development in Glasgow city centre. A large section has been pre-let to Virgin Money for its new headquarters.The 177 Bothwell Street development in Glasgow city centre. A large section has been pre-let to Virgin Money for its new headquarters.
The 177 Bothwell Street development in Glasgow city centre. A large section has been pre-let to Virgin Money for its new headquarters.

Stephen Lewis, managing director at HFD Property Group, said: “Having a dedicated data centre at 177 Bothwell Street underlines HFD’s commitment to being a full-service property developer, giving our occupiers and the wider city access to the IT infrastructure they need.

“Occupiers within 177 are able to locate their IT systems in a purpose-built data centre within the building, benefiting from its inherent resilience and energy efficiency.

“The data centre will also provide the building with the IT infrastructure necessary for the many smart building technologies we are installing to make it operate as efficiently as possible.”

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Danny Quinn, managing director at Datavita, said: “The installation of our new metro data centre is a large part of our plan for growth. Having the data centre in the heart of the city will not only support the capabilities of 177 Bothwell Street, but will support the growing demand from telecoms, IoT, and smart city technologies providers for quality data centre services in the heart of Glasgow city centre.”

In March, the towering Bothwell Street office was refinanced after a “green loan” facility was agreed. HFD said it had agreed terms with HSBC UK to refinance its flagship Glasgow development.

The green loan facility, providing funding in excess of £100m, requires the vast building to continue to meet a range of sustainability targets.

The development will also feature a rooftop terrace and running track, hundreds of cycle spaces, electric vehicle charging points and touchless technology throughout the building.

Smart technology will be used throughout the building to reduce energy consumption and improve environmental performance.

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