Microsoft has acquired the site of a former power station in Leeds for £106.6m from Harworth Group.
The Skelton Grange site will be developed into a hyperscale datacentre by the tech giant.
The site is made up of 2 parcels of land. The first is 27 acres and will be sold on an unserviced basis for £52.9m, the sale is expected to be completed by the second half of the year.
The second plot is 21 acres and will be sold on a serviced basis for £53.2m. Completion is targeted for 2026.
“Since re-listing in 2015 Harworth has successfully completed a number of significant transactions that create value for our shareholders but this sale at Skelton Grange is the Group’s largest to date and is yet another exemplary case study that demonstrates the successful regeneration of brownfield land.,” said Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth Group.
“It highlights Harworth’s capabilities in identifying and acquiring complex sites, creating planning-friendly masterplans that maximise site potential, and deploying timely and effective investments into remediation and infrastructure. This transaction further builds our expertise to include datacentres and evidences the growing spectrum of industries that continue to be attracted to the schemes that Harworth brings to the serviced land market.”
Harworth acquired the former Skelton Grange power station in 2014 for around £3m and undertook remediation and enabling works.
Once the development is completed, Skelton Grange is expected to house the Microsoft data centre as well as providing around 250,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space, a battery energy storage system facility, an energy from waste operation and around 28 acres of land returned to natural habitat.
The group estimates this will represent in excess of £4 billion of inward investment.
