Brookfield plans Canary Wharf AI data centers as U.K. infrastructure demand rises

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Brookfield Canary Wharf AI data centers

Highlights

Brookfield Asset Management plans to develop AI-focused data centers in London’s Canary Wharf, citing AI infrastructure as its leading investment theme.
Brookfield launched an AI infrastructure fund backed by Nvidia in November 2023 and secured partnerships with the French and Swedish governments for further expansion in Europe.
CEO Connor Teskey asserts that rising energy demand, digitalization, and supply chain shifts are driving large-scale data center investment, despite concerns about market excess.

Canary Wharf expansion plan

As reported by CNBC, Brookfield Asset Management Chief Executive Connor Teskey said on Thursday that the firm wants to develop data centers in London’s Canary Wharf, arguing that AI infrastructure and the energy needed to support it are now Brookfield’s biggest investment theme.

Teskey said the company already has a multi-gigawatt portfolio of data centers globally, with additional sites under construction and in development. He added that Brookfield sees a major opening for AI infrastructure in the U.K. and Europe, describing the region as a middle ground between the U.S. and China.

He said the U.K. lacks a domestic hyperscaler, which means AI infrastructure growth and productivity gains may be driven more by governments than by the biggest technology companies. Brookfield launched a dedicated AI infrastructure fund backed by Nvidia in November last year and has also agreed AI partnerships with the governments of France and Sweden.

Investment outlook and sector impact

Teskey said Brookfield is not deterred by concerns over a possible AI data center bubble, arguing that facilities built against long-term contracts with strong counterparties still offer room for further investment. He said data centers are being developed widely and that the market opportunity remains significant.

According to Teskey, three forces are shaping the investment landscape, soaring energy demand, deeper digitalization and the rewiring of global supply chains. He said that mix, together with the productivity benefits of AI, is making large-scale investment increasingly attractive, even as he acknowledged pockets of excess in the current market and called for tighter investment discipline.

Our earlier report on the EU’s draft plan to ease climate standards for data centres explained how regulators are trying to accelerate AI infrastructure expansion without undermining industrial competitiveness. We noted that the proposal would loosen emissions offset requirements by allowing broader use of energy certificates, including some linked to nuclear power, even as AI-driven electricity demand keeps rising across the region.

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