Cromwell EREIT to co-invest in two European data centres

This follows after Cromwell Property Group launches its data centre fund with Stratus.

Cromwell European REIT or (CEREIT) has entered into a heads of terms agreement with its sponsor Cromwell Property Group (Cromwell) and Stratus Data Centres (Stratus) to co-invest directly into 50% stakes in two data centre projects in London and Frankfurt, a press release revealed.

Stratus is a member of investment firm EXS Capital Group. The announcement follows after Cromwell has separately mentioned that it made a deal with Stratus to invest in and manage the rollout of a data centre property platform across Europe and Asia Pacific through the new Stratus Cromwell Data Centre Fund (SCDC Fund).

Stratus will be responsible for project development, leasing, design and construction, whilst Cromwell will be a cornerstone investor in the SCDC Fund, which is targeting an eventual gross asset value of over $1.39b (US$1b), with 25% of the portfolio already identified by the first two strategic sites under exclusivity. Cromwell will also source investment funding and subsequently provide joint fund management and asset management services upon the completion of each project.

The first project is a two-stage, 100 megawatt (MW) data centre serving London. The six-acre project site is well-located on fibre optic routes in the east of the city and will be powered by renewable energy. Negotiations with potential tenant operators are well advanced and construction is expected to be completed in 2021.

The second, larger project is on a 34-acre strategic site serving Frankfurt. A multi-stage 300MW project with advanced pre-leasing agreements and planning processes underway, it will also be one of the largest data centre campuses in Germany and Western Europe once completed.