Vodafone: Vodafone is selling its portfolio of data centers in London
Jul 12, 2023 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
Savills is looking for buyers for the Network Portfolio, a collection of six buildings totaling 260,000 square feet. The portfolio is reportedly worth $128.3 million. The properties are leased to Vodafone Enterprise UK through April 2032. They generate $7.8 million per year in total passing revenue. The sites are being marketed with the potential for medium- to long-term renovation for student and housing developments, as well as additional offices and data centers. Addison House, Chart Street, Old Street, N1; 24-40 Dock Street, Wapping, E1; Wakefield House, Chart Street, Old Street, N1; Smale and Solaglass House, Great Suffolk Street, SE1; Mobility House, Croft Street, SE8; and 21 Miles Street, Vauxhall, SW8 are the sites included.
Formerly a glassworks, the three-story Smale House housed Cable & Wireless from 1958 until the company was taken over by Vodafone in 2012. It is named after the Chief Engineer of Cable & Wireless, John Smale. Recently renamed the Speechmark, it is primarily an office building. Built around 2000 and previously referred to as the Turret Business Centre, the Dock Street location is a former Cable & Wireless data center. In the 1980s, C&W subsidiary Mercury Communications operated a telecommunications facility at this location. Previously, the location housed an industrial sugarhouse storehouse.
Addison House/Wakefield House on Chart Street looks to be another multi-story data center based on the substantial roof infrastructure. British Land's website describes the property as a "data storage facility with ground and four upper floors."