Digital Realty London Docklands: 30MW Financial Interconnection Hub
Status: Operational | Location: 1 Muirfield Crescent (Cloud House) & 227 Marsh Wall (Sovereign House), London E14, UK
Project Overview
Digital Realty’s London Docklands Campus, comprising Cloud House, Cloud House West, Sovereign House, and Bonnington House, is one of the United Kingdom’s most significant carrier-neutral digital infrastructure hubs, strategically located on the Isle of Dogs adjacent to Canary Wharf and the City of London. Spanning more than 220,000 square feet of high-density technical whitespace, the campus is purpose-built to support enterprise colocation, hyperscale cloud deployments, financial services, artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, and mission-critical applications that demand ultra-low latency, high availability, and secure connectivity. The campus incorporates advanced resilience features, redundant power infrastructure, and scalable cooling systems designed to accommodate high-density IT environments while maintaining operational efficiency. A key differentiator is the innovative closed-loop dock water cooling system implemented at Cloud House, which utilizes dock water for heat exchange and operates up to 20 times more efficiently than conventional air-based cooling methods, significantly reducing energy consumption and environmental impact. Reinforcing Digital Realty’s sustainability strategy, the entire campus is powered by 100% renewable and carbon-free electricity matched through green power purchase agreements, helping customers achieve their environmental goals without compromising performance. As one of London’s leading connectivity ecosystems, the Docklands Campus offers carrier-neutral access to more than 85 network providers, major Internet Exchanges including LINX and LONAP, and direct, low-latency connectivity to leading cloud platforms through services such as AWS Direct Connect and Oracle FastConnect. This extensive interconnection ecosystem enables enterprises, cloud providers, financial institutions, and digital businesses to build secure hybrid and multi-cloud architectures while benefiting from one of Europe’s most connected and strategically located data center campuses.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Digital Realty London Docklands: 30MW Financial Interconnection Hub |
| Location | 1 Muirfield Crescent (Cloud House) & 227 Marsh Wall (Sovereign House), London E14, UK |
| Status | Operational |
| Commissioning | Operational (Multi-building campus development, Cloud House opened 2019) |
| Total IT Load | 30.0 MW |
| Total Capacity | 30.0 MW total critical IT load across 220,000+ sq ft (20,500+ m²) gross space spanning 4 key campus buildings |
| Tier Level | Tier III Equivalent / ISO 27001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 50001, PCI-DSS & SOC 2 Certified |
| Project Type | Purpose-Built Enterprise Colocation, Cloud & Low-Latency Interconnection Campus |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| 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) & Canal & River Trust (Dock Water Cooling Infrastructure) |
| Construction Contractor | Leading Regional European Mission-Critical EPC Contracting Partners |
| MEP Engineering | Digital Realty Global Technical Engineering Division |
| Network Connectivity | Carrier-neutral campus with direct access to 85+ network service providers, LINX, LONAP, euNetworks ultra-low latency routes, and dual Meet-Me-Rooms. |
| Power Infrastructure | Powered by high-voltage distribution feeds from UK Power Networks, backed by N+1 / 2N static UPS topologies and standby diesel generators. |
Technical Specifications
| Header | Details |
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| Power Capacity | 30.0 MW total critical IT load across campus facilities |
| UPS Redundancy | Concurrently maintainable N+1 / 2N UPS power architecture supported by standby diesel generators with on-site bulk fuel reserves. |
| Cooling System | Closed-loop chilled water systems combined with proprietary dock water cooling technology and N+1 mechanical redundancy. |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral design featuring four subterranean fiber points of entry (POEs), dual Meet-Me-Rooms, and inter-building campus cross-connects. |
| PUE Target | 1.20–1.25 |
| Energy Mix | 100% Renewable and carbon-free electricity coverage. |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
|---|
| Announcement | 2017 |
| Construction Start | 2018 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | September 2019 (Cloud House Opening) |
| Full Buildout | Operational |
Investment Details
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| Total Investment | $350,000,000+ USD (~£275,000,000+ GBP) |
| Funding | Direct corporate capital expenditure & green debt financing managed by Digital Realty |