Stellanor Acquires Strategic Hemel Hempstead Facility in Sale-Leaseback Deal
April 8, 2026
The UK data center market continues to see strategic consolidation as investor-backed platforms seek prime, operational assets. The acquisition of established facilities with high-caliber, long-term tenants underscores the sector's resilience and its critical role in supporting the digital infrastructure demands of technology enterprises.
UK data center operator Stellanor has acquired a purpose-built data center in Hemel Hempstead, just outside London, from semiconductor IP company Imagination Technologies. The transaction, finalized this week, is structured as a sale-and-leaseback, with Imagination committing to remain as a fully managed client of Stellanor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquired facility, located on Boundary Way within the Maylands Business Park, sits on just over an acre of land. The 28,255 square foot (2,625 square meter) data center, which Imagination has occupied since approximately 2013, was previously marketed for £9.5 million ($12.77 million). It offers approximately 116 racks and 3MW of capacity across two data halls. According to prior marketing materials, Imagination had sought a 15-year leaseback arrangement with an annual rent around £635,000 ($855,250).
This deal increases Stellanor’s operational footprint to 11 facilities totaling 39MW of capacity. The company was launched last year by German investment firm DWS, initially seeded with two London sites acquired from Colt Technology Services. Stellanor subsequently grew its portfolio by acquiring eight facilities totaling 41MW from UK managed services provider Redcentric in 2025.
Michael Tobin, Chairman of Stellanor, stated, "This acquisition demonstrates the quality of infrastructure and tenants we’re attracting. Imagination Technologies is exactly the type of blue-chip technology company we are looking to serve - enterprises with demanding digital infrastructure requirements – from AI and high-performance computing to core enterprise applications and business-critical workloads - that need urban proximity and institutional-grade infrastructure."
Imagination Technologies, founded in 1985 and owned by Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, emphasized the operational benefits of the partnership. CEO Markus Mosen said, “Our partnership with Stellanor strengthens this foundation, ensuring we have the robust, scalable environments needed to support our teams while enabling us to remain agile and focused on advancing our core technologies.”
The transaction highlights converging trends in the European data center landscape, where investor capital is targeting assets that combine strategic urban locations with the capacity to support next-generation workloads like AI. Aparna Narain, a partner at DWS, noted, "This acquisition sits at the intersection of two powerful trends: evolving AI growth and enduring demand for urban proximity. We're creating a differentiated category in the UK market - combining urban focus with the scale and financial capability to deliver high-performance, AI-ready infrastructure."
The Hemel Hempstead area is an established data center cluster, hosting operations from providers like NTT. Recent development filings in the Maylands Business Park also signal continued growth interest in the locale.
Source: datacenterdynamics
Stellanor Expands UK Portfolio with Acquisition of Data Center from Imagination Technologies
