Microsoft withdraws from Nscale’s Essex data centre

Microsoft has withdrawn from Nscale’s planned £2bn AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, where it had committed to funding a supercomputer. Nscale says it still intends to build the facility, planned as the UK’s largest AI data centre. Microsoft declined to comment.

The site was due to receive its power supply at the end of the year, but Nscale has been told the connection will not be available until the 2030s. The company described the delay as a London-wide grid issue and said it was exploring alternative power sources for Loughton, alongside other UK expansion sites.

Nscale said its relationship with Microsoft remained strong and long-term, with joint projects continuing in Norway, Portugal and the United States. It said the grid issue would not affect its other contracts. The Loughton facility is expected to create 250 permanent jobs when it eventually opens. Only last month, Microsoft said part of its $30bn (£22bn) UK investment would fund the site’s supercomputer.