Tritax Big Box (BBOX) has announced plans to raise £350 million through a new share issue, with proceeds earmarked for the construction of London data centres.
The FTSE 100 real estate investor told shareholders it had nearly doubled its pipeline of grid connection agreements to 507 megawatts, a significant milestone for its development ambitions.
The company said the fresh funding would “unlock the next wave of data centre growth,” positioning itself to capitalise on surging demand for computational infrastructure across the capital.
Companies are required to secure power agreements with the grid operator before launching new data centre schemes, making the expanded pipeline a critical competitive advantage for Tritax.
Chief executive Colin Godfrey pointed to a supply crunch in the capital, saying: “With such an acute shortage of power in the Greater London Availability Zones, we expect to see significant occupational interest in these schemes.”
The proceeds will be directed toward two new data centre projects, both targeted for completion by 2031, which will deliver computational capacity to London’s growing technology market.
Tritax said the two schemes could generate £50 million to £60 million of incremental rent alongside between £300 million and £400 million of capital profit for the company.
Retail investors will have the opportunity to participate in the fundraise through an offer available on investment platform Retailbook, broadening access beyond institutional shareholders.
The fundraise arrives at a moment of intense global investment in data centre infrastructure, with artificial intelligence driving unprecedented demand for large-scale computing power.
Research by McKinsey projects that data centres worldwide will require $6.7 trillion in total investment to keep pace with the growing demand for compute capacity.
Of that figure, $5.2 trillion is expected to be needed for facilities equipped to handle AI processing workloads, while $1.2 trillion will be directed toward more traditional IT-focused data centres, according to the consultancy.
Tritax’s move reflects a broader race among real estate investors and developers to secure power connections and land in constrained urban markets before competing projects absorb available grid capacity.