Google invests £790m building its first UK data centre
Google (GOOGL) is committing £790m to build its first data centre in the UK, in Waltham Cross, which should be completed in 2025.
It is the second major investment by a major tech firm in the UK, following Microsoft’s (MSFT) announcement of a £2.5bn investment to expand data centre for artificial intelligence (AI) across the country.
Google said it was too early to say how many jobs would be created at the 33-acre site in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, but confirmed the centre would require engineers, project managers, data centre technicians, electricians, catering and security personnel.
It adds to its 27 data centres worldwide, with sites across 11 countries, including 13 in the US.
However, Ben Barringer, technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said it was unlikely that a significant number of jobs would be created, after construction was complete.
He said: “Data centres do not require scores of employees to run them, and given Google is a very lean business, it will be looking to make its operation as efficient as possible.”
Google already has more than 7,000 staff in the UK with three sites in London in Victoria, King’s Cross, the colourful Central Saint Giles development near Tottenham Court Road, and another in Manchester.
Its DeepMind AI research and development lab is also based in London.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said Google’s plans were “testament to the fact that the UK is a centre of excellence in technology and has huge potential for growth”.
He added: “Foreign investment creates jobs and grows all regions of our economy, and investments like this will help to drive growth in the decade ahead.”
Read more: Microsoft to invest £2.5bn in UK AI sector
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, commented: “From business conducted online to advancements in healthcare, every growing economy relies on data centres.
“Our country is no different and this major one billion US dollar investment from Google is a huge vote of confidence in Britain as the largest tech economy in Europe.”
Google said the site would help power popular digital services, such as Google Cloud; Workspace, which includes Gmail, Docs, Sheets and others; Search; and Maps.
It said it would also “play a critical role in supporting the company’s AI innovations and will provide the UK with much-needed compute capacity”.
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