DALLAS — In its first venture outside the U.S., Lincoln Rackhouse, the data center division of Lincoln Property Co., partnered with Sprott Korea Investment on the acquisition of a 145,000-square-foot facility in London's data center submarket of Camberley.
The transaction is a partial sale-leaseback with a Fortune 100 financial institution, which has signed a long-term lease for approximately 50% of the facility. Lincoln Rackhouse will lease the remaining space and capacity to enterprise users or a data center operator.
"We are very proud of the data center portfolio we've built in the United States,” said Martin Peck, executive vice president and leader of Dallas-based Lincoln Rackhouse. “By adding a quality asset like this in London, one of the world's top data center markets, we are taking our data center platform to new heights.”
The London data center market is one of the most vital digital infrastructure hubs not only in Europe but in the global data center landscape. In terms of operational supply, London is second only to Northern Virginia.
"We are honored to complete this transaction successfully, and we are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with Lincoln Rackhouse," said Seokhyun Yun, CEO of Sprott Korea Investment.
Data center demand is high among Korean institutional investors and operating companies. And, it is rapidly increasing due to the expansion of IoT and cloud services.
"Sprott Korea is looking forward to showing its ability to fulfill client needs for future data center investment opportunities," Seokhyun said.
Despite current hyperscale demand, the high-cost London market was first established with more local enterprise applications. Increased needs from hyperscale, content, carrier, enterprise, IT service, and various other customer types have impacted the market, creating a healthy mix of wholesale and retail colocation supply.
"This is a very appealing opportunity given the long site acquisition, construction, and electrical capacity procurement lead times that enterprise users and operators can face when entering into or expanding within the London market," said Thomas Hill, vice president of acquisitions for Lincoln Rackhouse. "This acquisition enables us to facilitate a new customer installation immediately."
The acquisition was started and brought to fruition as planned despite market upheavals arising from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
"To think this transaction was able to be successfully completed during these challenging times is not only personally inspiring, but it’s also a testament to the professionalism and dedication of all involved – our Lincoln and Sprott Korea teams, our attorneys, facility partners and our seller," Peck said.
