Blackstone To Invest £10bn For Blyth AI Data Centre

US-based investment giant Blackstone is to make a huge investment in the north east of England to build one of Europe’s largest artificial intelligence data centre.

The government announced the new data centre would create thousands of jobs in the north east, which is “boosting the UK’s world leading capabilities in the AI sector and driving growth in the local community.”

Earlier this month the government had designated data centres in the UK as critical national infrastructure (CNI), highlighting the importance of these facilities amid ongoing cyber threats from hackers, criminals and hostile nation states.

Blackstone investment

Also in September 2024, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that it planned to invest £8 billion over the next five years (2024-2028) building, operating, and maintaining data centres in the UK.

But now Blackstone has confirmed a £10 billion investment to create one of the largest artificial intelligence data centres in Europe.

According to the government, over 4,000 jobs will be created as a result, including 1,200 roles dedicated to the construction of the site in Blyth, Northumberland.

The Blyth site was the proposed location of the Britishvolt battery plant, which collapsed into bankruptcy in January 2024 after months of struggling to obtain a financial lifeline. The Blyth site was later sold for redevelopment as a data centre in April 2024.

According the government announcement, construction on the Blyth data centre site is expected to begin next year.

Meanwhile Blackstone will also invest £110 million into a fund to support further skills training and transport infrastructure in the area.

Top investment market

The UK government pointed out that UK is already home to the highest number of data centres in Western Europe.

“The number one mission of my government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits – and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business,” said the Prime Minister.

“The UK is a top investment market for Blackstone because of its powerful combination of talent and innovation along with a highly transparent legal system,” added Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone.

“We are making significant commitments to building social housing, facilitating the energy transition, growing life sciences companies and developing critical infrastructure needed to fuel the digital economy,” said Gray. “This includes a projected £10 billion investment to build one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data centres supporting 4,000 jobs. Blackstone is committed to Britain.”