Hyperco, a Finland-based real estate investment firm focused on acquiring and developing data centers, has acquired a data centre property located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
The property has two committed and long-term tenants – international data centre company Equinix, and high-tech security company Thales. Located next to a power plant, the building totals 16,900 square metres of leasable area, and has potential for a 6,500 square metre extension.
“We see plenty of potential for development at the property as it features valid industrial zoning, plenty of unused building right, excellent fibre and electricity connections. A 10 to 20 megawatt data centre could be developed on the site, and we are currently planning the extension”, said CEO of Hyperco, Timo Pohjanpalo.
Hyperco said that it is heavily focused on developing its properties in a sustainable manner by investing, among other things, in energy efficiency. Waste heat generated at the Myllykivenkuja property could be captured and used to partly replace the fossil fuels that are currently used to heat homes in the Helsinki Metropolitan area.
The acquisition is Hyperco’s first, which was founded little over a year ago and is the first player in its field in Finland. Hyperco’s current pipeline features both standing and development assets across the Nordics. Over the next couple of years, Hyperco is hoping to invest in both existing data centres as well as large build-to-suit developments targeted for fast-growing international technology companies. It plans to expand its portfolio to other Nordic countries.
Over the past few years, the Nordic data centre market has grown rapidly with several new announcements of large M&A deals and hyperscale developments, such as Microsoft’s cloud region in Finland, and the trend is expected to continue. The growth is explained by access to cheap, reliable, and renewable power as well as abundance of land, which are typically scarce resources in other geographies, such as the Central European markets.
“We see plenty of exciting investment and development opportunities in Finland and the Nordics, particularly now, as power and land availability issues are constraining supply in other markets. Having committed and sophisticated blue-chip investors, now and in the future, support us in executing on these opportunities via hands-on work is important for us”, said Pohjanpalo.
