Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centre campuses, has taken home a CoStar Impact Award for Acquisition of the Year for Wales after buying a former Ford engine plant facility in Bridgend that was at risk of becoming "white elephant".
The Moor Road site was acquired by Vantage last year for £27.5 million, making it the largest industrial transaction in South Wales during the year. It was picked for an award by an independent panel of industry professionals working in the market.
Comprising 2 million square feet of data industrial buildings, Savills suggested the site to its client Vantage due to its significant power supply across a 150-acre site. Those behind the deal say it will help to put Bridgend on the map as a destination for the technology and data centre industry.
Savills also says the data centre campus proposals at the South Wales site are "hugely exciting" for the Welsh economy after the closure of the plant in 2020 resulted in the loss of skilled jobs and employment in the area.
About the project:
The proposed data centre campus will be highly innovative, with significant green credentials and will help to put Wales ahead of much of the UK, according to agents.
The acquisition of the site was highly technical, with extensive legal due diligence across the site with major emphasis on the title, environmental and demolition and clearance of the site.
As part of the sale the vendor will clear and remediate the site. Billions of pounds will be invested in the site.
What the judges said:
Cenydd Rowlands, property director at Development Bank of Wales, said: "This was the largest transaction in South Wales during the year, creating a key piece of digital infrastructure in the burgeoning AI market that is expected to attract billions in additional investment and create high skilled jobs for many years."
Gareth Lloyd, partner in the Knight Frank Capital Markets team, added: "It has taken out a large disused automotive facility and replaced with a modern data centre. A sign of the times and exciting that Vantage are looking to expand at pace in South Wales."
They made it happen:
Ross Griffin, director in the Savills investment team and Ruth Tytherley, senior director in the national industrial agency team at CBRE.