If you work in UK IT infrastructure, you've probably heard of the Slough Trading Estate. It's home to Europe's densest concentration of data centres - more capacity per square mile than anywhere else on the continent.
The Numbers
The Slough corridor hosts:
- 43+ data centres
- 365MW+ of power capacity
- Major operators: Equinix, VIRTUS, Digital Realty, Iron Mountain, NTT, Kao Data
- Growing: Multiple new facilities under construction
For context, 365MW could power a small city. It's powering cloud infrastructure instead.
Why Slough?
Several factors combined to make Slough the UK's data centre hub:
Location
Slough is 20 miles west of London, just off the M4. It's:
- Close to the City and Canary Wharf (low latency for financial services)
- Near Heathrow (connectivity hub)
- On major fibre routes
- In the Thames Valley tech corridor
Power
The area has robust power infrastructure, originally built for manufacturing. When the factories left, the power capacity remained - perfect for data centres that need massive, reliable electricity.
Connectivity
The UK's major fibre routes pass through or near Slough. Telehouse, LINX, and major carriers all have presence here. Getting connectivity is straightforward and competitive.
Cluster Effect
Success breeds success. Once Equinix established LD4, other operators followed. Now there's a complete ecosystem of carriers, suppliers, and skilled workers in the area.
Who's There?
Equinix has five facilities in Slough (LD4, LD5, LD6, LD10, LD13x) and continues to expand. They're the 800lb gorilla of the market.
VIRTUS operates LONDON4, one of the largest facilities in the area.
Digital Realty has multiple buildings on Ajax Avenue.
Iron Mountain operates LON-1, LON-2, and LON-3.
NTT has significant presence on the estate.
Kao Data is the newer entrant, building next-generation facilities.
What This Means for Businesses
If you need colocation in the UK, Slough is often the obvious choice:
Connectivity - More carriers, more options, better prices. If you need to connect to cloud providers, financial exchanges, or content networks, they're all here.
Redundancy - With so many facilities in close proximity, you can have geographically diverse yet low-latency DR.
Ecosystem - Finding smart hands support, cabling contractors, or hardware suppliers is easy when everyone's clustered together.
Hybrid cloud - Direct connections to Azure, AWS, and GCP are readily available. ExpressRoute and Direct Connect have local presence.
The Challenges
It's not all positive:
Power constraints - Despite the capacity, power to the grid is becoming a limitation. New developments face long lead times for power connections.
Land scarcity - The estate is largely built out. New capacity requires either redevelopment or looking further afield.
Cost - Premium location means premium pricing. If latency isn't critical, facilities in Wales or the North offer better value.
Our Presence
We're based in Slough specifically because of this data centre concentration. It means:
- Sub-30 minute response time to any major facility
- Relationships with all the major operators
- Deep understanding of the local infrastructure landscape
Whether you need smart hands support, are planning a migration, or want colocation with bundled services, we're already here.
Looking for colocation in the Slough corridor? Get in touch - we can help you find the right facility and provide ongoing support.