Garbe Acquires 65,000 sqm Former Printworks in France for Data Center Conversion, Pending Grid Connection
June 12, 2026
Garbe Acquires 65,000 sqm Former Printworks in France for Data Center Conversion, Pending Grid Connection
A former printworks south of Paris is being eyed for conversion into a data center, as German industrial property group Garbe moves to repurpose the 65,000 sqm (700,000 sq ft) factory in Malesherbois, Loiret. The site, previously owned by printing firm Maury Imprimeur, has been vacant since last year after the company downsized and relocated all staff to another facility in nearby Manchecourt. Garbe acquired the property for a reported €3 million ($3.4 million), with part of the site potentially used as a logistics depot alongside the planned data center.
The project’s progression hinges on securing a grid connection from French utility Enedis, which is currently reviewing Garbe’s request. According to law firm Osborne Clarke, which advised Maury Imprimeur on the sale, the site “will undergo a comprehensive modernization in order to be repositioned for logistics-type use, with the ambition of creating a sustainable asset that meets high environmental standards, incorporating criteria relating to energy efficiency and space optimization, while limiting its environmental footprint.” No target IT capacity or opening date has been disclosed for the data center component.
This acquisition underscores a broader trend across France, where brownfield industrial sites are being repurposed to meet the surging demand for digital infrastructure driven by AI companies. Garbe is already active in European data center development, including a 350MW facility in Denmark, and the Malesherbois project represents a strategic addition to its portfolio in a region increasingly critical for data center growth. The conversion of such former industrial assets not only addresses space constraints but also aligns with sustainability goals by reusing existing structures, though the final go-ahead depends on Enedis’s grid capacity decision.
Source: datacenterdynamics
