JLL advises IGIS on landmark Korea hyperscale data center transaction

SEOUL, 13 August 2024 – JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global real estate services firm, today announced on the sale of the Hanam Data Center, a hyperscale asset located in Pungsan-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do. JLL served as the exclusive advisor for the sale of this asset, owned by a fund of IGIS Asset Management through its subsidiary IGIS Asia Investment Management, to Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund (Macquarie Infra).

The Hanam Data Center represents the first data center development project by IGIS Asset Management and IGIS Asia Investment Management initiated in 2019 and completed in 2023. The transaction is also noteworthy as a significant market milestone as the first sale of a stabilized hyperscale data center with existing tenants in South Korea.

The 12-story asset encompasses approximately 42,000 square meters of gross floor area and offers a total power capacity of 40MW. The Hanam Data Center features state-of-the-art facilities and benefits from the operational expertise of LG CNS, a leading Korean provider of IT consulting and services currently managing the operations.

Strategically situated in the southeastern region of Greater Seoul, the Hanam Data Center effectively addresses the substantial demand for data center capacity from Seoul and Pangyo, particularly given the challenges associated with securing power for new data center construction in the metropolitan area. The demand was evident in the leasing up of the Hanam Data Center having secured commitments for 100% of its capacity upon achieving operational readiness.

Steve Oh, CEO of IGIS Asia Investment Management, remarked, "The Hanam Data Center was developed through the first-ever launched Korea data center development fund by IGIS Asia. We have since successfully launched our second data center fund and intend to further expand our investments in Asia."

Keehoon Lee, Head of Capital Markets at JLL Korea, commented, “This transaction is significant for the market and JLL, representing the successful development and sale of the first hyperscale data center in Korea. Despite the challenging environment with investor sentiment dampened by high interest rates, there is increasing interest from both domestic and international investors in data centers. Traditionally dominated by telecommunications companies, the market is now experiencing disruptive innovation and entering a new phase with the participation of global players."

“Seoul is a tech-savvy city with a high demand for reliable and efficient data center infrastructure, driven by the presence of major tech companies, startups, and e-commerce platforms. Despite the government’s energy policy to limit high-capacity data centers within metro Seoul, JLL expects interest to continue growing, supported by end-users who require low latency,” says Bob Tan, Executive Director, Capital Markets, Asia Pacific, JLL.

JLL continues to bolster its capabilities in the data center transaction market. Beyond advisory services for acquisitions and sales, JLL is expanding its comprehensive advisory services, including colocation (end-user tenant representation), thus serving the spectrum from data center end-users to investors.