"We’re driving forward the digital transition"
Phoebe Smith,
PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra
PATRIZIA Head of Fund Management RE-Infra Phoebe Smith reflects on PATRIZIA's recent data centre investments, framing this activity against governmental digitalisation ambitions and the company's RE-Infra strategy, which refers to the convergence of real estate and infrastructure enabled by technology.
Earlier this year, PATRIZIA invested in Aligned Data Centers - one of North and South America’s fastest-growing developers - in a move that captured more than just the growth story of a single platform. It represented a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital infrastructure as an institutional asset class. With over USD 12 billion secured in fresh capital, Aligned’s scale-up reflects how global investors are now treating digital infrastructure not as an emerging asset class, but as a mature, resilient and strategically essential sector.
What sets Aligned apart, and what drew PATRIZIA and our partners at CenterSquare Investment Management to the opportunity, is how it bridges the physical and digital: combining advanced energy-efficient technologies with hyperscale-ready capacity and deep operational experience. This convergence is at the heart of a new kind of investment model - what PATRIZIA calls RE-Infra - where the traditional boundaries between real estate and infrastructure are dissolving.
Shaping the next generation of real assets
Data centres today aren’t just storage facilities. They are the operational backbone of AI, cloud computing, e-commerce and other core digital systems. Aligned’s 5GW pipeline and proven delivery track record make it more than a platform for connectivity; it’s a platform for economic resilience, a critical enabler of national and regional productivity in the digital age.
For PATRIZIA, the investment reinforces a broader global thesis: that value is increasingly being created at the intersections of asset classes, where land, power and connectivity converge. Success in this space requires more than capital. It requires the capability to bring these components together in a way that is commercially scalable, environmentally responsible and operationally deliverable. That’s where we believe our expertise lies - not just as investors, but as partners shaping the next generation of real assets.
Court Lane conviction unlocks national opportunity in the UK
Take our project at Court Lane in Iver, Buckinghamshire. Now fully consented, the site is set to become a 700,000 sq ft, 140MW hyperscale data centre campus and a major new hub in the UK’s most competitive corridor for cloud and compute infrastructure. It’s a clear demonstration of PATRIZIA’s ability to unlock large-scale digital infrastructure. But the path to that outcome was far from straightforward.
Although the project was designated as critical national infrastructure by the UK central government, it faced delays due to slow decision-making at the local level, and consequently the substation required to power the site was caught in months of procedural gridlock. This isn’t a unique story. For many investors, national priorities are too often slowed by local barriers.
Yet this is not a criticism of the UK’s investment environment. The UK remains one of the most compelling destinations for digital infrastructure capital. The real lesson from Iver is not about risk, it’s about capability. PATRIZIA was able to navigate those frictions and move the project forward because we understand the full picture: infrastructure requirements, planning dynamics, investor expectations.
Local delivery, global ambition
In addition to Aligned and Iver, PATRIZIA provided senior financing for a data centre development in Norway earlier this year through its infrastructure debt strategy. The three examples are not separate stories, but three chapters in the same narrative. Because while delivery is local, the opportunity is global. In North America, our backing of Aligned supports a platform delivering 5GW of capacity to some of the world’s most demanding digital tenants. In the UK, we’ve played a key role in transforming a disused industrial site into a campus that will meet mission-critical demand for decades to come. In both cases, we are aligning capital with the digital infrastructure that underpins economic growth and resilience. And with the Norwegian deal, we have spotted an opportunity to support the digital trajectory in the Nordics, where data centre opportunities are particularly attractive due to the availability of renewable energy, and create value for our investors through a debt facility.
These capabilities are increasingly needed across Europe’s FLAPD markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) where supply constraints and power scarcity are pushing vacancy rates to record lows. At the same time, hyperscalers and long-term investors are racing to secure capacity to meet multi-decade demand. The rise of AI, cloud infrastructure and the digital economy is accelerating this shift, while cementing data infrastructure as a core institutional investment.
RE-Infra expertise required for data centre strategies. These capabilities are increasingly needed across Europe’s FLAPD markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin) where supply constraints and power scarcity are pushing vacancy rates to record lows. At the same time, hyperscalers and long-term investors are racing to secure capacity to meet multi-decade demand. The rise of AI, cloud infrastructure and the digital economy is accelerating this shift, while cementing data infrastructure as a core institutional investment.
Driving forward the digital transition
Looking ahead, our RE-Infra strategy continues to grow. We’re exploring opportunities where digital demand, power availability and location advantages are aligning to create investable conditions.
We continue to equip our logistics real estate portfolio in Europe with solar PV panels, our EV charging platform, Corymbia, is evolving to meet the growing demand and political tailwinds behind the electrification of our transport systems and our smart cities strategy is undertaking the implementation of building and street upgrades, supported by technology, where we are invested. Through our investment in Connexin, we are also pioneering smart metering to highlight leakage in the UK’s water infrastructure system at the earliest opportunity.
In a rapidly changing investment environment, digital infrastructure offers one of the clearest opportunities for long-term, meaningful deployment of capital. But real leadership requires more than funding. It demands conviction and the capability to manage complexity.
This is not a passing moment. It’s a structural transformation in how real assets are defined, delivered and financed. Data centres are no longer peripheral. They are the future of tomorrow’s economy. Demand is rising. Technology is advancing. Capital is mobilising. And at PATRIZIA, we’re not simply responding to that trend. We’re driving forward the digital transition.