UK data centre spend to soar to £10 billion a year - Barbour ABI

Group 1 - Spending on new UK data centres is projected to reach £10 billion annually by 2029, representing a more than five-fold increase from £1.75 billion spent in 2023 [1] - Investment in the UK data centre sector is being driven by AI demand, with tech giants expected to invest £25 billion over the next five years and nearly 100 new data centre projects planned [2] - The largest planned data centre project in the UK is a $13 billion "hyperscale" facility in North East England proposed by Blackstone, indicating a shift in development beyond London [3] Group 2 - The surge in global data centre demand and projects has been significantly influenced by the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, as investments in generative AI are anticipated to transform work and life [4]