Drone strikes and noise disputes: The soaring risks of the global data centre boom Insurance As data centres scale, consume more power, and draw tighter community scrutiny, insurance risks are becoming increasingly complex. As AI infrastructure grows, so do legal risks: large lawsuits involving data centres more than tripled from four in all of 2021 to 14 in the first half of 2026, according to a Howden report. Planning and [...]
Ofgem warns on grid squeeze after Heathrow data centre approved Tech The energy watchdog Ofgem has warned that speculative data centre projects risk holding up viable investments on Britain’s electricity grid, after councillors approved another power-hungry facility near Heathrow Airport. Hounslow Council has backed plans for a data centre on a 12.2-acre brownfield site at the Haslemere Heathrow Estate, which would require an 80MVA high-capacity electricity [...]
Tritax Big Box taps investors for £350m London data centre splurge Tech Listed real estate investor Tritax Big Box has revealed plans to raise £350m through a new share issue to pump into the construction of London data centres. The FTSE 100 company told investors it had nearly doubled its pipeline of grid connection agreements to 507 megawatts and would use the fresh funding to “unlock the [...]
Ofgem targets speculative AI data centres to free up Britain’s energy grid July 29, 2026 Ofgem has announced plans to stop speculative AI data centre projects clogging up Britain’s electricity grid, after applications for new power connections more than tripled in less than a year. The energy regulator is consulting on a new upfront commitment fee for large data centre developers, alongside tougher rules requiring projects to prove they are [...]
Prologis pursuit of Segro descends into silver-haired scrap July 22, 2026 Prologis’s attempt to take over Segro has descended into a spat over the age of its chief executives as the US firm looks to convince the FTSE 100 company’s shareholders to accept its offer, City AM can reveal. New York-listed Prologis, the world’s largest listed real estate company, has warned Segro’s investors that 65-year-old boss [...]
FTSE 100 property giant Segro rejects £13.5bn Prologis bid July 20, 2026 Segro has rejected a second and third takeover bid from US rival Prologis, as the tussle between the two property giants steps up a gear. The FTSE 100 real estate firm rejected Prologis’ latest bid last week, which amounted to £9.93 per share and valued the group’s total shares at £13.5bn. Prologis said its latest [...]
Big Tech faces earnings test after AI spending spree July 18, 2026 Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon will report earnings over the next two weeks as investors look for evidence that years of record spending on AI are beginning to generate stronger revenue growth. The three companies have led the AI investment boom, committing billions of dollars to data centres, chips and software. Their latest results are expected [...]
Energy minister says AI must ‘bring down bills’ as data centres squeeze the grid July 15, 2026 Power-hungry data centres must help bring down bills rather than place further strain on Britain’s squeezed electricity network, the energy minister has said. Michael Shanks warned public support could drop for the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure unless households saw a clear economic benefit. “We need to deliver energy security here at home, but we [...]
Grid delays force Starmer-backed AI data centre to seek alternative power July 13, 2026 One of the UK’s flagship AI infrastructure projects is being forced to source its own energy supplies after discovering it would not be granted grid connection in time for its eagerly anticipated opening. Nscale, the British AI unicorn backed by Nvidia, is now looking beyond conventional electricity connections for its flagship £2bn data centre in [...]
Prologis ramps up pressure on FTSE 100 property giant Segro July 9, 2026 US real estate giant Prologis has called on shareholders in FTSE 100 rival Segro to engage with its £12.6bn takeover bid, arguing the deal offers a “substantial upfront premium” and access to a larger global footprint of data centres. Prologis, a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in San Francisco, claimed that “constructive engagement… remains [...]