JV MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE
London-based investment group SEGRO has announced the company will be pursuing a new joint venture with Pure Data Centres (Pure DC) to construct a new 56-megawatt data center in London’s Park Royal region. The over $1.2 billion initiative, named SEGRO Pure Premier Park Data Centre Limited, will represent SEGRO’s first fully fitted data center development. The 322,915-sq.-ft. data center will be constructed on 10 acres of land owned by SEGRO, while Pure DC has secured 70 megavolt-amperes of power to support the site. “Building on our 20 years of experience in the powered shell data center market, we have been exploring how best to utilize our skills and 2.3GW land-enabled power bank to maximize the opportunity in this fast-growing sector,” said SEGRO CEO David Sleath. “We expect this project to deliver an attractive risk-adjusted return, and it will also help further strengthen SEGRO’s expertise in this area, enabling us to optimize and accelerate the significant value creation opportunity within our portfolio.” The project announcement stated that the JV expects to sign a 15-year or longer long-term net lease with a global hyperscaler, although it has not been disclosed which hyperscaler that is. Construction is set to begin in 2026, creating hundreds of new jobs during buildout, with completion slated for 2029.
A SECOND DOSE OF R&D INVESTMENT
AstraZeneca plans to introduce a second global strategic R&D center in Beijing, over 12 hours north of its first R&D center in Shanghai, China. This announcement marks the company’s sixth global R&D center investment to date. “This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China,” said AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot. “Our sixth strategic R&D center will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide.” The Beijing R&D center will be located in proximity to leading biotechs, research hospitals and the National Medical Products Administration at the Beijing International Pharmaceutical Innovation Park. This project is expected to aid in new research collaborations with expertise from the Beijing Cancer Hospital, Harbour BioMed and Syneron Bio across various study areas.
Photo courtesy of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
MORE OKLAHOMA RUBBER TO HIT THE ROAD
A Goodyear Tire & Rubber manufacturing facility in Lawton, Oklahoma is gearing up for a new $320 million expansion. The site is the company’s largest manufacturing location in the world and will soon produce more tires than ever before. Production capacity at the site will reach up to 120,000 units per day, or about 10 million units annually, which reflects a 30% overall increase. This move comes as a result of increased global demand for larger rim-diameter tires, in addition to tires designed for electric and autonomous vehicles. The Lawton facility continues to play a strategic role in the company portfolio, reflected in recent growth investments such as the $50 million, 45,100-sq.-ft. expansion that wrapped in 2023. Comanche County Industrial Development Authority has approved a $1 million loan to Goodyear to support the project’s financing.
Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore
