Summary
- Volta has acquired the Reynolds House colocation business through a carve-out transaction.
- The facility has approximately 1.45MW installed IT capacity, with plans to expand to 2.5MW.
- Its network ecosystem includes around 25 carriers, a LINX presence, and dark fibre links to Equinix MA1.
Arcus Infrastructure Partners has expanded its UK colocation portfolio through Volta Data Centres’ acquisition of Reynolds House in Manchester from Lunar Digital.
The transaction transfers an operating carrier-neutral data centre business with approximately 1.45MW of installed IT capacity and plans to expand to 2.5MW. Its location in Manchester’s main connectivity district provides access to an established concentration of telecommunications and digital infrastructure services.
Reynolds House hosts approximately 25 carriers, a London Internet Exchange point of presence, and direct dark fibre links to Equinix’s MA1 facility. Around 60 customers use the site, including telecommunications companies, content networks, cybersecurity providers, IT services businesses, and enterprises.
The acquisition is structured as a carve-out and excludes the Lunar Digital brand. Operational staff will transfer with the acquired business, supported by further recruitment and Volta’s central resources.
Volta has previously operated from London, where its existing facility provides carrier-neutral colocation and interconnection services. Reynolds House represents its first expansion outside the capital and establishes an additional operating location in Northern England.
The Manchester site was developed by Lunar Digital, which launched its Lunar 1 data centre in January 2024. The transaction transfers an established facility and customer relationships rather than representing the commissioning of a newly constructed data centre.
Financial consideration has not been disclosed. The confirmed capacity figures distinguish infrastructure already installed from the proposed expansion: approximately 1.45MW exists today, while the larger 2.5MW figure remains a development objective.
Interconnection capability is central to the value of the business. Customers using a carrier-neutral data centre can purchase services from different network operators, connect equipment through cross-connects, and establish private routes between facilities.
Those connections support cloud access, data exchange, content distribution, and applications requiring predictable network performance. Facilities within established connectivity districts can offer access to carriers and fibre infrastructure that may be expensive or difficult to reproduce elsewhere.
Dark fibre connections to Equinix MA1 provide another physical networking route between data centre locations. The equipment, bandwidth, and resilience associated with such services depend on the optical systems and commercial arrangements used by individual customers.
Network diversity is not determined by the number of providers alone. Several services can share underlying ducts, routes, or equipment, so operational resilience also depends on the physical design and separation of those connections.
Manchester has developed a substantial interconnection ecosystem serving customers across Northern England. The combination of regional demand and telecommunications concentration gives facilities such as Reynolds House a different commercial role from large hyperscale campuses designed primarily around high electrical capacity.
In a connectivity-led colocation business, existing network relationships and customer contracts can be as important as the potential to add additional racks. Expansion must nevertheless accommodate the electrical, cooling, and physical infrastructure required by new equipment.
Arcus has an established interest in European infrastructure assets, including data centres. Its investment approach provides Volta with a platform for acquisitions and operational development, although no further Manchester transaction or specific programme beyond the stated Reynolds House capacity expansion has been confirmed.
The transaction follows Arcus’s earlier agreement to acquire Volta Data Centres from Verne. Alantra, which advised Lunar Digital on Reynolds House, also advised on that earlier acquisition, linking the current purchase to the investor’s stated plan to build a larger UK colocation platform.
Arcus reported approximately €12.4bn under management at the end of June 2026, according to transaction adviser Alantra. Its investment focus includes digital infrastructure alongside transport, logistics and energy, rather than exclusively data centres.
Arcus identifies Reynolds House as a platform for further growth in Manchester. That ambition is separate from the only quantified capacity increase currently announced, from approximately 1.45MW installed to a potential 2.5MW. The future expansion will still require suitable electrical and thermal systems, as well as commercial demand for the additional accommodation.
Volta will inherit an existing customer operation rather than merely an undeveloped asset or fully vacant building. Maintaining service continuity while integrating commercial arrangements and site management will therefore be part of the acquisition process, although no immediate changes to customers’ services have been announced.
Alantra advised Lunar Digital on the sale. The immediate result is Volta’s ownership of an operating Manchester facility, including its existing interconnection ecosystem and the opportunity to increase installed IT capacity to 2.5MW.
