DataVita acquires Fortis data centre in major deal

The company will now take full ownership of Scotland’s only purpose-built, Uptime Institute tier III certified facility from a syndicate of private investors. DataVita has operated the data centre since 2016 and was the facility’s first occupier, providing data centre and cloud services to businesses and public sector organisations.

Fortis is the largest and only data centre of its kind in Scotland, supporting critical IT services for an estimated two million people across the country. The acquisition concludes the first phase of DataVita’s strategy for the facility, which when complete will see it valued at £160 million.

The purchase will also support DataVita’s drive to enhance the data centre’s green credentials[1]. Earlier this year, DataVita became the first Scottish IT company to sign the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact and announced plans to take the facility off-grid, generating its own electricity from wind and battery-powered back-up systems.

It will equally support DataVita’s – and the wider HFD Group’s – growth, adding to the flexibility and scope of its service offering. In 2019, the company booked a 76% increase in revenues and was appointed to the Scottish Government cloud services framework, allowing it to offer public sector organisations access to a range of cloud and data centre facilities.

Danny Quinn, managing director of DataVita, said: “The deal for Fortis has been enabled by DataVita’s success over the last few years, from more or less a standing start. We can now accelerate our plans to drive the data centre’s environmental and wider ESG focus, open up new opportunities with our existing clients, and support our market competitiveness and ability to work with larger users of IT services across the UK. 

“From a wider HFD Group perspective, it underlines our support for, and investment in, IT services for our existing and prospective occupiers. Property and IT are becoming intrinsically linked and our strength on both fronts – and ability to offer everything from businesses space to connectivity and cyber security – is a powerful offering to businesses and public sector organisations alike.

“As the disruption caused by Covid-19 continues and our economy and society rely more than ever on digital infrastructure, DataVita is in a strong position to support the IT and data needs of businesses and public sector services in a secure and sustainable way.”