Data Centers
Bringing global insight to the legal challenges of next-generation digital infrastructure. We help clients succeed in a sector undergoing exceptional transformation.
Data center demand has never been greater. Whatever role our clients play - building, financing, operating, powering, or using - navigating the legal and commercial challenges requires a partner who understands the full ecosystem.
Our clients trust us to cut through complexities, anticipate risk, and identify swift, practical answers to intricate problems. With a presence in the world's most active data center markets and experience across the full data center spectrum, we combine deep local knowledge and full cross-border service through the support of a single, coordinated team.
of the Global Fortune 500 rely on us to support their business goals.
Leading Firm recognized BCLP practices in Chambers & Partners
The data center sector is reshaping the global economy. We're ready to help our clients move faster, think bigger and capitalize on every opportunity it has to offer.
Supporting the full life cycle
From site selection and planning through construction, leasing, financing, customer and cloud arrangements, regulatory compliance, and cross-border portfolio transactions, clients trust our ability to address challenges at every stage and help drive transformation.
- $575 million data centre business sale: Represented a Fortune 500 advanced network and technology provider on the sale of its data centre business to a US cloud, colocation and managed services provider.
- £1bn hyperscale data centre in East London: Advised a leading development partner on a flagship hyperscale project delivering c.80MW of IT load across a campus including a data centre, offices and high-voltage substation. The project covered procurement strategy, EPC/EPCM contracts, utilities and grid connections, ESG considerations, and a joint venture with an energy utility to deliver a district heating network.
- Hyperscale campus land acquisitions across the US Midwest: Advising a multinational technology company on the acquisition of thousands of acres to support the development of multiple hyperscale data centre campuses, including complex real estate structuring, utility negotiations and infrastructure strategy.
- Global data center program: Advising on procurement strategy and construction documentation across multiple developments spanning jurisdictions in Europe and Asia, with a combined construction value exceeding US$5 billion. Providing additional ongoing support for power procurement and supply chain matters.
- 100MW greenfield hyperscale campus in Finland: Acting for a pan-European developer on the development of a 28-hectare, up to 100MW data centre campus, delivered in phases with significant expansion capacity.
Discover our latest News & Insights
Insights
Jun 09, 2026
Jun 09, 2026
The Energy Nexus: UK Data Centres and Power Strategy
Power decides which UK data centre projects get built.
AI and high-performance computing are pushing campus demand into the hundreds of megawatts. Electricity grid capacity is scarce in key UK data centre locations. Connection dates sit at board level.
Developers, operators and investors need a power strategy before they commit capital, sign anchor tenants or acquire land.
Insights
Apr 01, 2026
Apr 01, 2026
The Energy Nexus: Structuring Integrated Power and Data Centre Infrastructure
Insights
Mar 11, 2026
Mar 11, 2026
Dispute resolution in data centre projects: Proactive strategies for a high-stakes environment
The lifecycle of a data centre, from land acquisition to operation, brings together significant capital investment, complex technical systems and layered contractual relationships. While earlier articles in this Insight Series have explored development, financing and transactional execution, an equally critical dimension is the proactive management and resolution of disputes.
Insights
Mar 03, 2026
Mar 03, 2026
The rise of strategic joint ventures and alternative structures in data centre investment
The UK data centre sector has evolved into one of the most competitive and capital-intensive asset classes across global real estate and infrastructure. Delivering a single hyperscale facility, often requiring more than half a billion pounds of investment—alongside intense competition for powered land and lengthy grid connection timelines, has made the traditional single-developer financing model unsustainable. In response, a new era of, strategic partnerships have emerged. The market is dominated by complex joint ventures and alternative investment structures, designed to pool capital, allocate risks, and align the interests of specialist developers, institutional investors, and hyperscale tenants.
Insights
Feb 24, 2026
Feb 24, 2026
Structuring the next generation of data centre tenant agreements
Insights
Jan 09, 2026
Jan 09, 2026
FERC Directs PJM to Facilitate Faster Integration of Large Electric Loads, including Data Centers
Insights
Nov 28, 2025
Nov 28, 2025
Regulatory and ESG challenges in the data centre sector: Building a sustainable future
The United Kingdom’s data centre sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Having established itself as a cornerstone of the nation's economy, the industry now faces its most complex challenge: adapting to an increasingly demanding regulatory and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) landscape.
The sector's exponential growth, driven by the insatiable demand for data, has placed it under an intense spotlight. Its high power and water consumption, and the physical impact of large-scale facilities, have brought questions of sustainability and community impact to the forefront. Today, a data centre’s success is no longer measured solely by uptime or tenant covenant strength, but by its ability to maintain a social licence to operate. And this is granted not just by regulators, but by investors, tenants and local communities.
These issues are central to risk management, value creation and long-term commercial strategy. Neglecting them can jeopardise financing, erode asset value and cause operational and reputational damage.
This instalment of our Insight Series looks beyond individual transactions to the frameworks that shape the entire data centre lifecycle. We explore how leading developers and investors can turn regulatory and ESG pressures into opportunities to build more resilient, responsible and valuable assets.
Insights
Nov 24, 2025
Nov 24, 2025
Unlocking Value in UK Data Centre M&A Transactions
The United Kingdom’s data centre market is undergoing a profound transformation. A forecast surge in demand for data centre capacity—driven by advancements in AI, cloud computing, and digital services—is expected to outstrip supply, even with recent government initiatives aimed at accelerating development. Key constraints remain, including lengthy grid connection timelines and a complex, often polarised planning system.
At the same time, data centres continue to attract long-term capital—including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure funds, and REITs—thanks to their predictable, inflation-linked returns. Private equity investors have also been highly active, drawn by strong growth prospects and opportunities to consolidate fragmented markets. These dynamics have pushed valuations to record highs and sustained strong demand for UK data centre M&A, defying the slowdown in other real estate sectors post-pandemic.
Against this backdrop, data centre M&A transactions are not merely high-value real estate deals; they demand familiarity with operational infrastructure, advanced technology, long-term service contracts, and complex regulatory issues. Executing such transactions successfully requires integrated expertise across M&A, energy, real estate, technology, regulatory, and finance. Understanding the legal and commercial anatomy of these deals is paramount for unlocking maximum value and mitigating inherent risks.
Insights
Nov 03, 2025
Nov 03, 2025
Financing data centre developments: Balancing risk and opportunity in a capital-intensive sector
The United Kingdom’s data centre sector is built on a striking paradox: demand for digital infrastructure seems limitless, but building it requires eye-watering amounts of capital. A hyperscale facility can cost more than £500 million, putting data centres among the most capital-intensive real estate assets in the world.
In this high-stakes environment, financing is not just about securing capital. It’s about designing the right capital structure – balancing debt and equity in a way that reduces risk, satisfies lenders, equity partners and tenants, and still delivers long-term returns.
In this third instalment of our Insight Series, we look at how sophisticated financing structures are used to balance risk and opportunity in the UK data centre market and share practical advice to help developers navigate complexity with confidence
