Equinix-Leased 3MW Manchester Data Center Sold for £15.35 Million
July 3, 2026
Equinix-Leased 3MW Manchester Data Center Sold for £15.35 Million
A data center in Manchester, UK, occupied by global colocation giant Equinix, has changed hands in a deal valued at £15.35 million (approximately $20.5 million), underscoring sustained investor appetite for critical digital infrastructure assets in regional UK markets. The transaction reflects the ongoing financial restructuring by St. James’s Place, which is winding down its property funds.
According to reports from Place North West, Schroders Capital has acquired the facility, known as Joule House, from Invesco. The property, located at 76 Trafford Wharf Road in the Trafford Park area of Stretford, had been marketed earlier this year as one of the “most modern and technically advanced” data centers in Manchester and a “network critical” facility. Equinix operates the two-story, 3MW site as its MA3 data center, which offers approximately 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters) of technical space and supports power densities of up to 20kW per rack. Equinix continues to list the facility as leased in its latest earnings presentation.
The site originally launched in 2012 under Telecity, a European data center provider that Equinix acquired in 2016. Invesco had been seeking to offload the asset on behalf of St. James’s Place as the latter firm winds down its property funds. Orchard Street Investment Management, acting on behalf of St. James’s Place, originally acquired the data center in 2012 from Peel Land and Property Investments plc for £7.6 million. At the time of that sale, Telecity still had a 13-year lease remaining on the facility. CBRE advised Invesco on the latest transaction, while Aquira Real Estate advised Schroders.
The sale highlights the enduring value of pre-leased, operationally critical infrastructure assets in the UK data center market, even as broader commercial real estate faces headwinds. Equinix’s continued presence at the site, alongside its three other Manchester data centers—MA1, MA4, and MA5—reinforces the city’s importance as a regional connectivity hub. The company exited its MA2 facility at Reynolds House in 2023, signaling a strategic consolidation of its footprint in the area.
Source: datacenterdynamics
