Digital Realty London LHR20 Data Center (Sovereign House)
Status: Operational | Location: 227 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SD, United Kingdom
Project Overview
Digital Realty’s London LHR20 (Sovereign House) is a premier six-story colocation and interconnection data center located at 227 Marsh Wall in the heart of London Docklands, one of Europe’s most important digital infrastructure and financial connectivity hubs. Positioned close to Canary Wharf and the City of London, the facility provides an ideal location for enterprises, financial institutions, cloud providers, and digital service companies requiring ultra-low-latency connectivity and resilient infrastructure. The building spans approximately 66,736 square feet (6,200 m²), including 53,862 square feet of dedicated technical whitespace designed to support high-density enterprise IT, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and mission-critical applications. As a key component of Digital Realty’s London Docklands Campus, alongside Cloud House and Cloud House West, LHR20 benefits from a highly interconnected ecosystem that delivers carrier-neutral access to multiple telecommunications providers, internet exchanges, and direct cloud connectivity services. The facility is engineered with resilient power and cooling infrastructure to ensure high availability, operational continuity, and scalable capacity for evolving business requirements. Customers gain access to Digital Realty’s global PlatformDIGITAL® ecosystem and ServiceFabric™ orchestration platform, enabling secure, on-demand interconnection across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Powered by renewable electricity in line with Digital Realty’s sustainability initiatives, LHR20 combines operational efficiency with environmentally responsible infrastructure. Its strategic location, advanced connectivity ecosystem, and scalable colocation capabilities make Sovereign House a critical destination for organizations seeking secure, high-performance digital infrastructure within one of Europe’s leading financial and technology markets.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Digital Realty London LHR20 Data Center (Sovereign House) |
| Location | 227 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SD, United Kingdom |
| Status | Operational |
| Commissioning | Operational (Retrofit / Operational since 2001) |
| Total IT Load | 4.8 MW – 8.0 MW |
| Total Capacity | 4.8 MW critical IT load across 66,736 sq ft (6,200 m²) gross building space featuring 53,862 sq ft of customer whitespace over 6 floors |
| Tier Level | Tier III Equivalent / ISO 27001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 & SOC 3 Certified |
| Project Type | Retrofit Enterprise Colocation, Cloud & Low-Latency Interconnection Hub |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
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| City Name | london |
| Population | 8.9 Million |
| Urban Agglomeration | 9.8 to 11.4 million |
| City GDP | £110.8 billion in 2023 |
| Per Capita Income | £69,077 in 2023 |
| City Tier | Tier 1 |
| Key Strengths | Global Financial Hub; Dense Connectivity; Low Latency to Europe and North America; large skilled talent pool. |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
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| Developer / Operator | Digital Realty |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | UK Power Networks (UKPN) & London Docklands Telecommunications Authority |
| Construction Contractor | Leading European Mission-Critical Engineering & Retrofit Contractors |
| MEP Engineering | Digital Realty Global Technical Engineering Division |
| Network Connectivity | Carrier-neutral design featuring direct fiber access to 80+ network providers, LINX, LONAP, AWS Direct Connect, Oracle FastConnect, and dual Meet-Me-Rooms. |
| Power Infrastructure | Powered by high-voltage grid connections via UK Power Networks, supported by N+1 static UPS configurations and emergency standby diesel generator arrays. |
Technical Specifications
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| Power Capacity | 4.8 MW – 8.0 MW critical IT load |
| UPS Redundancy | N+1 concurrently maintainable UPS power architecture backed by standby diesel generators with bulk fuel autonomy. |
| Cooling System | High-efficiency chilled water cooling and CRAH air handling units in N+1 redundancy configuration. |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral facility featuring 2 Meet-Me-Rooms (MMRs), multiple subterranean fiber entry vaults, and dark fiber links across the Docklands campus. |
| PUE Target | 1.25–1.30 |
| Energy Mix | 100% Renewable electricity coverage matched via green tariffs. |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Announcement | 2000 |
| Construction Start | 2000 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | 2001 (Initial Go-Live as Sovereign House) |
| Full Buildout | Operational |
Investment Details
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| Total Investment | $80,000,000+ USD (~£65,000,000+ GBP) |
| Funding | Direct corporate capital expenditure & infrastructure acquisition funds managed by Digital Realty |