Global Technical Realty (GTR), a European build-to-suit data center operator led by Franek Sodzawiczny and backed by KKR, today announced details on its first data center campus in Slough, UK (20 miles west of Central London), which will have a total IT load of 40.5 megawatts upon completion. GTR’s data center development in Slough represents the company’s first announced project since its formation in May 2020.
Global Technical Realty (GTR) in Slough (London)
Global Technical Realty’s Slough site will comprise three independent data centers with a total IT load of 40.5 megawatts. Each building will support 13.5 megawatts of IT load and span 58k+ sqft (5.4k sqm) of net technical area.
In terms of timing, the development will be delivered in two phases and is expected to be fully operational in Q4 2022. Once built, GTR’s 40.5-megawatt campus will be the largest in the UK’s Slough data center hub. Importantly, the Slough data center hub comprises 90% of current London data center demand.
Additionally, the facilities will be capable of operating individually, or as one inter-linked campus. This nuance will be determined by any sizable single-tenant pre-leases that GTR may secure.
Development Manager
Global Technical Realty will use SEGRO, a developer of industrial (primarily logistics) properties, to construct the purpose-built data center.
Customers
GTR’s approach is to design, build, and operate hyperscale data centers across Europe, targeting global technology clients (i.e., hyperscale customers).
As a reference point, Zenium, which Franek Sodzawiczny previously founded (see below) had only 10+ customers, at the time of its sale to CyrusOne. Indeed, hyperscale companies represented 75%+ of Zenium’s contracted revenue. Notable hyperscale customers of Zenium included Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and Salesforce.
Development Pipeline – Global Technical Realty (GTR)
Global Technical Realty’s expansion ambitions extend beyond London to include Continental Europe, as well as plans to make inroads in continents beyond Europe. Firstly, in Europe, GTR has under development an incremental 94 megawatts of power capacity across additional Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets. Secondly, the company expects to open its first data center in Latin America in 2022. Finally, GTR plans to add another location in the Middle East over time.
Management Team
Global Technical Realty is led by its co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Franek Sodzawiczny, who previously founded Zenium Data Centers. Ultimately, Zenium Data Centers, which operated in London and Frankfurt, sold itself to CyrusOne for $442m, after separately selling a facility in Istanbul to Equinix.
GTR’s Leadership Team Includes:
- Martin Carroll: formerly Lead Director, EMEA Data Center Advisory at JLL
- Mark Trevor: formerly Head of EMEA Data Center Transaction and Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield
- Tom Sodzawiczny: formerly Associate Director of Capital Markets at Colliers International
- Richard Rowson: formerly CFO at Global Switch and VP Finance at Interxion
Ownership and Leadership
Global Technical Realty (GTR) will fund its data center build-out with backing from private equity firm KKR. Specifically, KKR made a $1bn equity commitment to GTR primarily through its $7.4bn Global Infrastructure Investors III Fund.
Alongside debt financing, KKR’s $1bn equity commitment will support more than $2.5bn of asset development and investment into data centers.
