Written evidence submitted by from Kao Data (IGR0029)
Kao Data leads the data centre industry, pioneering the development and operation of
facilities engineered for AI and advanced computing.
Through our hyperscale-inspired data centre platform, we provide our customers with a
secure, scalable, and sustainable home for their compute.
With industrial scale facilities currently operating in Harlow, Slough, and Northolt, our new
£350 million investment in Stockport, Greater Manchester, will create a state-of-the-art and high performance data centre in Stockport, providing 40MW IT of capacity and a substantial contribution to Greater Manchester’s digital infrastructure.
It will also be the largest and most advanced facility in Northern England - functioning
as a catalyst to drive increased migration of international tech firms to Manchester. But
most importantly of all, it has the ambition to establish a new North of England hub for
excellence in the sector.
The UK is currently Europe's largest data hub, with more than 500 data centres, the majority in the South East. Now is the time to widen the distribution of data centres in the UK, away from sites in the West of London. If we want to be part of the global AI opportunity we need to deploy these resources in locations that are suitable, sustainable and have the opportunity for growth.
How does research and innovation in our regions drive growth and prosperity in those regions?
£532 million was raised by tech firms in Greater Manchester in 2022 [1] - a 50% increase on the previous year - and 78% of digital companies in the city-region reported expansion in the same year [1].
Greater Manchester is also underpinned by a strategic authority that is digitally-focused, savvy and fully prepared to support the region in its aims to fly the flag for tech in the UK. In 2023, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority - which represents all ten local boroughs - unveiled an ambitious digital blueprint for the city-region declaring significant investment and support that would take the regional data and technology sector to £5.5 billion [1].
Manchester is riding an unprecedented wave of digital innovation and is primed for data centre development - something Kao Data believes will be vital to meet the UK government’s economic and technological ambitions as it aims to become a world-leader in science and tech by 2030. Furthermore, possessing a resilient grid network previously constructed for heavy industry, Greater Manchester has the plentiful, reliable power that data centres need.
The opening of the 200-acre MediaCityUK in 2012 has seen innovation centres spread to Salford, with the mixed-use space on the ship canal now serving as one of the UK’s largest creative and digital clusters, and where many of the country’s biggest media institutions such as the BBC and ITV reside, as well as numerous film rendering, SFX and CGI studios.
Also beyond central Manchester are numerous world-renowned scientific institutions including Jodrell Bank Observatory (which pioneers in astronomy), The Christie (which runs 650 clinical research studies every year on cancer treatments) and Daresbury Laboratory (home to the Accelerator Science and Technology Centre (ASTeC) and the Cockcroft Institute, which houses teams of scientists from nearby universities.
13 January 2025
[1] Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint 2023-26 - https://www.greatermanchester-ca.