07 June 2021

DataVita, Scotland’s largest data centre and multi-cloud services provider, has acquired the Fortis data centre in Lanarkshire with £45m of support from parent-company HFD Group.

The Lanarkshire site is the only one of its kind north of the border, supporting critical IT services for an estimated two million people in a country with a population of 5.5 million.

DataVita has operated the data centre since 2016 and was the facility’s first occupier, providing data centre and cloud services to businesses and public sector organisations.

The purchase will also support DataVita’s drive to enhance the data centre’s green credentials. Earlier this year, DataVita became the first Scottish IT company to sign the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact and announced plans to take the facility off-grid, generating its own electricity from wind and batterypowered back-up systems. It will equally support growth for DataVita and the wider interests of commercial property and investment company HFD Group.

Danny Quinn, managing director of DataVita, has often spoken of growing DataVita to five times its current size.

In 2019, the company booked a 76% increase in revenues and was appointed to the Scottish government cloud services framework, allowing it to offer public sector organisations access to a range of cloud and data centre facilities.

“We can now accelerate our plans to drive the data centre’s environmental and wider ESG focus, open up new opportunities with our existing clients, and support our market competitiveness and ability to work with larger users of IT services across the UK.,” said Quinn. “From a wider HFD Group perspective, it underlines our support for, and investment in, IT services for our existing and prospective occupiers.”

He added that property and IT “are becoming intrinsically linked and our strength on both fronts – and ability to offer everything from businesses space to connectivity and cyber security – is a powerful offering” to businesses and public sector organisations alike.

Quinn said: “As the disruption caused by Covid-19 continues and our economy and society rely more than ever on digital infrastructure, DataVita is in a strong position to support the IT and data needs of businesses and public sector services in a secure and sustainable way.”

HFD, the commercial property and investment company, is investing £45m, which includes the undisclosed purchase price.”