Summary
- CBRE has agreed an initial £460 million cash consideration for Onnec, plus a conditional earnout of up to £300 million.
- Onnec employs approximately 800 people and provides network, fibre, installation and maintenance services across the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific.
- Completion is expected around the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals; CBRE's 2027 financial estimates remain forecasts.
CBRE has agreed to acquire London-based data centre infrastructure services specialist Onnec Group for £460 million upfront, with a further payment of up to £300 million dependent on future business performance.
The definitive agreement, announced on 20 October, would expand CBRE’s network infrastructure installation and maintenance capabilities across the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Asia Pacific. Onnec employs approximately 800 people and supports major technology customers, including hyperscale data centre operators.
The additional consideration takes the potential total to £760 million, but the earnout is conditional on Onnec reaching specified growth thresholds over several years. Regulatory approvals remain outstanding and completion is expected around the end of 2026.
Onnec will join CBRE’s Critical Infrastructure Services business after completion. Until then, the announcement represents a proposed ownership change rather than confirmation that the company has been integrated into CBRE’s operating structure.
Connectivity is part of physical data centre delivery
Onnec designs, deploys and maintains network, fibre and data centre infrastructure, including the structured cabling and connections required to link servers, storage and network equipment. These services are distinct from ownership of the facilities themselves.
Electrical power, cooling and connectivity must be coordinated when a computing installation is built or expanded. Equipment racks require cable paths, fibre termination arrangements and network connections that accommodate the physical layout of the space as well as the intended workload.
Hyperscale projects can involve large numbers of parallel connections between computing and network systems. Installation quality and testing are important because errors in those links may delay the readiness of equipment that is otherwise powered, cooled and installed.
Replacing or increasing server capacity also requires work after a building is operational. Cabling, fibre distribution, network equipment and associated containment may need modification as customers adopt different architectures and transmission speeds.
Those changes can be difficult in a live data centre because engineers must preserve service continuity while working near operating infrastructure. Scheduled maintenance, isolation procedures and verification of connections therefore form part of the delivery requirements.
The acquisition does not add specified megawatts of commissioned IT load to CBRE’s estate. Instead, it would expand the company’s capacity to provide engineering and infrastructure services to operators developing and maintaining facilities.
CBRE extends an international services platform
CBRE already supplies data centre infrastructure services in the United States, including capabilities gained through its earlier acquisition of Direct Line Global. Onnec would extend the geographical coverage of that activity and add an established customer base outside North America.
Founded in 1986, Onnec operates across several markets, offering a combination of project delivery and services supporting existing infrastructure. The company has experience in data centres as well as other buildings and logistics environments that require substantial network installations.
CBRE chief operating officer Vikram Kohli described the deal as part of a strategy to build a global infrastructure services operation alongside the company’s established real estate activities. The proposed acquisition would combine existing technical delivery capabilities rather than create a new data centre development site.
Onnec chairman Barry Horgan said the combination would allow the company to broaden services and opportunities for employees while retaining its customer relationships. Both statements describe the parties’ intended benefits and do not establish that integration has already taken place.
CBRE expects Onnec to generate approximately £370 million of revenue and more than £50 million of core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2027. Those are forward-looking estimates, not the company’s reported results for a completed financial year.
The buyer expects Critical Infrastructure Services to generate nearly $4.5 billion of total revenue in 2027 including Onnec. It forecasts that other infrastructure-related services businesses will contribute about $2.5 billion, taking the group’s estimated infrastructure services revenue to nearly $7 billion.
These wider forecasts cover more than Onnec and more than data centre infrastructure. They should not be interpreted as the value of this acquisition, a committed construction backlog or anticipated revenue from European data centres alone.
Transaction milestones remain outstanding
The structure of the acquisition links part of the final price to Onnec’s performance after completion. The initial £460 million is the announced cash consideration, while the additional £300 million is the maximum amount that could become payable if the agreed conditions are satisfied.
CBRE has not identified specific new customer contracts, facility installations or equipment deployments arising from the deal. Nor has it announced changes to Onnec’s workforce, current service agreements or geographic operating locations.
The service model could support customers seeking network infrastructure installation, upgrades and maintenance across several markets, although future combined contracts will depend on individual procurement decisions and the completion of the acquisition.
For the data centre sector, the confirmed development is consolidation of a specialist supplier whose engineering work helps make computing capacity usable. The next measurable step is regulatory clearance and transaction completion, after which financial and operational integration can begin.
