Summary
- SEGRO is continuing negotiations with a prospective hyperscaler customer in West London.
- The proposed pre-let remains unsigned and follows earlier expectations.
- The company reported £70 million of new headline rent across its wider portfolio.
SEGRO has confirmed that negotiations are continuing for the first fully fitted data centre being developed through its Pure DC joint venture in West London, with a hyperscaler pre-let expected in the coming months.
The property group provided the update on 21 October in its trading statement covering the nine months to 30 September. It said negotiations were progressing in line with its previous expectations, rather than reporting a newly signed customer agreement.
SEGRO has not identified the prospective hyperscaler or disclosed the commercial terms of the anticipated pre-let. The statement also does not establish that the facility has completed construction or entered operation.
Securing a customer commitment is an important commercial milestone for a fully fitted data centre. The intended occupier’s requirements can influence the design of electrical systems, cooling infrastructure, technical space and resilience arrangements before the facility becomes operational.
Unlike a conventional warehouse or a building delivered as a basic shell, a fully fitted data centre requires substantial investment in specialist infrastructure. Electrical distribution, mechanical systems, backup power, security and network connectivity must be coordinated with the requirements of the computing equipment to be installed.
The terms of a pre-let can influence financing and the allocation of development risk, although individual agreements differ in their approach to design obligations, completion dates and customer commitments.
SEGRO’s latest disclosure confirms that the proposed West London transaction has not yet reached that stage. No new commissioned IT capacity can be inferred from continuing negotiations.
Across its wider property portfolio, the company reported £70 million of new headline rent contracted during the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 32% compared with the equivalent period a year earlier.
Of that total, £42 million came from its existing portfolio and £28 million from development lettings. Occupancy increased to 94.7%, while developments under construction or in advanced negotiations represented £103 million of potential rent.
These figures describe SEGRO’s broader business and should not be attributed specifically to the West London data centre. They provide context for the group’s financial position and its ability to pursue additional development activity.
SEGRO also reported £1.2 billion of available liquidity and a loan-to-value ratio of 33%. Its proposed combination with Prologis remains subject to outstanding conditions, with completion expected during the first half of 2027.
The corporate transaction creates an additional consideration for the group’s future investment programme, although the trading statement does not establish a change to the design or contractual status of the Pure DC project.
London remains an established market for data centre capacity, but the delivery of new facilities depends on suitable sites, electricity infrastructure and construction resources. Customer demand alone cannot remove those requirements.
A signed pre-let would represent a further step in establishing the West London project’s commercial position. The current update confirms that negotiations remain active while leaving the customer commitment and operational delivery timetable unresolved.
