US investment giant BlackRock plans to invest £500m into enterprise data centres across the UK as part of a major funding allocation to its British operations.
BlackRock said it aims to improve the digital infrastructure of the UK amid rising demands in computing power and data storage as businesses look to new technologies such as AI.
BlackRock chairman and chief executive Larry Fink said: “Today we are announcing an investment of half a billion pounds into enterprise data centres across the country, advancing digital infrastructure for British-based businesses.”
The announcement is part of a wider £7bn of capital BlackRock is expecting to allocate to the UK market over the next year.
BlackRock’s UK plans were announced by the Department for Business and Trade alongside several other major financial sector partnerships from US firms ahead of a state visit from US President Donald Trump later this week.
A total of just over £1.25bn has been announced in private sector commitments to the UK market from firms including PayPal, Bank of America, Citi Bank and S&P Global.
PayPal will invest £150m in UK “product innovations”, with “AI-enabled shopping experiences” being mentioned by chief executive Alex Chriss.
“This commitment from America’s leading financial institutions demonstrates the immense potential of the UK economy, our strong relationship with the US and the confidence global investors have in our Plan for Change, which is making the UK the best place in the world to invest and do business,” said Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
“These investments will create thousands of high-skilled jobs from Belfast to Edinburgh, kickstarting the growth that is essential to putting money in working people’s pockets across every part of the United Kingdom.”
