Slaughters and Mishcon lead on £3.9bn UK data centre deal

Slaughter and May and Mishcon de Reya have won key roles on Equinix’s £3.9 billion purchase of the South Mimms data centre site in Hertfordshire, in one of Europe’s largest-ever data centre deals.

The 85-acre green belt site will deliver more than two million square feet of data centre capacity upon completion - which is expected in 2029.

Behind the deal

California-based Equinix is one of the world’s largest data centre operators with around 250 facilities globally. It said the project would run entirely on renewable energy and use dry cooling technology to minimise water consumption.

It is buying the site from DC01UK, a joint venture between property developer Griggs Group and Chiltern Green Energy, according to UKTN, which first announced plans for the project in September 2024 and secured planning permission in January.

Bigger picture

The deal comes amid a massive uptick in demand for data centres globally due to the AI boom - with Big Law firms capitalising on the surge through a series of big-ticket mandates.

Hertfordshire alone has seen significant investment in recent years. Google opened a $1 billion data centre in Waltham Cross last month, while property developer Greystoke Land secured planning permission for a £1 billion campus in Abbots Langley earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in the US, several major firms advised on the financing for Meta’s $27 billion, 2,700-acre Hyperion data centre campus in Louisiana - which involved the largest-ever private bond offering.

Advising

Slaughter and May advised Equinix, led by real estate partner John Nevin with support from energy and infrastructure partner Daniel Mewton.

Mishcon de Reya acted for DC01UK, with a team led by real estate partner Anju Suneja.

She was supported by fellow real estate partners Jonathan Legg and Chhavie Kapoor as well as partners Daniel Goldsborough (corporate), Nicholle Kingsley (planning), Phoebe McLarty (construction) and Andrew Williamson (private client).