Two data centres in the North Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone will be supported by a £300 million financial package underpinned by the National Wealth Fund and a syndicate of lenders.
The investment will expand DataVita’s existing data centre and fund the construction of a new one. The capacity of both is contracted to AI cloud firm CoreWeave, the infrastructure provider to many of the world’s leading AI labs, under a 15-year lease agreement.
The announcement comes after the Scottish government said planning authorities will have to notify Scottish Ministers of new data centre applications within seven days as a response to concerns over the impact of large-scale data facilities.
About 100 jobs will be created at the two sites, DV1 and DV3. Dell Technologies will move to Mercury House in Lanarkshire’s AI Innovation Park, which will be the new home for the company’s Scottish team.
The National Wealth Fund is providing a guarantee against £252.5m of lending delivered by ING, ABN AMRO and Santander. The remaining portion is provided by SNIB while funding from Siemens Financial Services is uncovered.
The financing will enable the delivery of Scotland’s first AI data centres within a designated AI Growth Zone, strengthening sovereign AI capability and driving growth in the wider Glasgow City Region.
The development of DV1 and DV3 is the first step in a larger planned data centre campus in the area, helping to establish North Lanarkshire as a key location for AI infrastructure in the UK.
DataVita has been part of Scotland’s digital infrastructure for more than ten years and is the country’s largest independent data centre developer and operator.
This project marks the National Wealth Fund’s first support for domestic compute capacity and supports both the Government’s Compute Roadmap and Scotland’s recently published five?year AI strategy.
Danny Quinn, managing director at DataVita, said: “The UK needs its own AI capability, built here and run here, and we are grateful to the National Wealth Fund and our lenders for backing a project that is already delivering it.
He added: “This type of investment in Scotland’s data centre infrastructure would have been unthinkable just two or three years ago.
“That is the impact AI is having. Scotland has all the right ingredients to take advantage of the AI revolution and make it a core part of its economy.”
Steve Young, senior vice president and UK managing director for Dell Technologies, said: “Our Scottish team moving to Lanarkshire means we will join a growing community of organisations helping to advance AI innovation, skills and collaboration.
“Being part of that ecosystem will help us strengthen relationships across Scotland while continuing to support customers and partners across the UK on their AI journeys.”
UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said: “AI is already helping scientists discover new medicines, supporting better public services and helping businesses get more done. The countries that build the infrastructure behind this technology will be the ones that attract investment, create jobs and help shape the industries of the future.
“That’s why today’s announcements matter. They will help ensure Scotland is at the forefront of one of the biggest economic opportunities of our time, bringing investment, reindustrialisation and opportunities to communities like Lanarkshire.
UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “This investment, and Dell’s decision to back brilliant talent in Lanarkshire, is proof that our AI Growth Zones are already playing their part in reindustrialising Britain.
“By using the National Wealth Fund to unlock private finance, we’re transforming Scotland into an AI powerhouse – delivering high-skilled jobs, training, and new opportunities that people can access on their doorstep.”
The Scottish Government’s Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn said: “This investment marks a milestone in the creation of Scotland’s first AI Growth Zone in North Lanarkshire.
“The Scottish Government’s AI Strategy sets out a clear plan to harness the economic and social benefits of AI to help ensure we translate our innovation and expertise into more businesses, jobs and investment.”
Ministers demand notification
The announcement coincides with the new notification requirement from Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad for data centre developments using more than 50 Megawatts of power.
Ms Goodlad said: ‘We must balance the economic and employment interests in developing data centres with national energy, climate and community wealth building ambitions, which are vital to our future prosperity, as well as the potential impact on local communities.
“It is essential to secure public benefits from this type of development, and I am clear that voices of communities that will be affected will be central to any considerations on data centres.”
Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell said: “This is an important first step, but it falls far short of the pause Scotland urgently needs.
“Today’s announcement has not actually paused or prevented a single hyperscale data centre from being approved, and the Scottish Government have still to define what a so-called ‘green’ data centre actually is.
“Likewise, the new environmental assessment requirements for proposals in Edinburgh and Fife are important, but they need to apply to every proposal.
“While it is welcome that ministers have finally listened to the Scottish Greens and others, and have recognised the need for greater scrutiny, monitoring the pipeline of applications is not the same as managing it.”
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Whilst this is a first step, Scottish Government ministers simply must go much further on the control and planning management of hyperscale data centres in our towns and cities. Workers deserve better than the glorified ‘holding response’ they have just issued.
“Before a further spade is put in the ground, workers and their communities must know that these huge developments will bring prosperity, growth and regeneration to their areas, never mind the stringent guardrails still needed to limit the environmental damage caused by these structures.
“A national strategy is required, one that allows unions, councils, and government to ensure that the explosion of AI in our workplaces – powered and driven by these data centres – benefits the people it serves, not those who seek to make a profit whilst communities pay the price.”
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