Navigating scarcity and complexity

The UK's data centre sector is at a pivotal moment. While often measured in megawatts, its true value lies in enabling our digital economy – powering everything from healthcare and banking to government and AI. The industry's narrative is shifting from megawatts deployed to the societal value delivered; we build the places where our essential services live.

This role is more critical than ever. With a forecasted $3 trillion supercycle and 14% compound annual growth rate globally through 2030, providers face both opportunity and mounting pressure to accelerate capacity, even as local obstacles persist.

From London’s complex planning requirements and ongoing grid constraints, to the specialised demands of Cambridge’s life sciences sector, and Scotland’s unique position as both an AI Growth Zone and a hub for renewable energy generation, each region presents its own set of challenges and opportunities.

In this article, we examine three critical themes – power, procurement, and talent – and offer practical insights for how providers can not only mitigate risks, but also leverage these complexities as opportunities for growth and resilience.

Availability and reliability of power are now central to UK data centre success, reshaping traditional site selection priorities and influencing investment decisions. Solving this challenge is fundamental to ensuring the nation's digital services remain resilient and available. Severe grid connection delays, particularly in London and Slough, have encouraged operators to look beyond the usual hubs, with new focus on regions like South Wales, Northumberland, and Scotland. This regional focus aligns with emerging government strategies, such as the development of AI Growth Zones , creating a potential opportunity for synergy between digital infrastructure and national innovation goals. However, these locations bring their own constraints – including talent shortages and infrastructure gaps.

Tom Glover, EMEA Head of Data Centre Transactions, JLL, notes, “Providers are increasingly commissioning feasibility studies early in the process to assess power availability, grid timelines, and local planning obstacles. This enables them to move decisively and avoid costly delays.”
 

Key considerations for data centre providers:
 

• Early and parallel engagement with utilities and authorities helps set realistic project timelines and de-risk delivery.
• Upfront feasibility studies enable a clearer understanding of grid availability, planning hurdles, and local infrastructure capacity.
• Behind-the-meter generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are emerging as credible solutions for grid delays.
• Renewable energy partnerships and supply diversification are becoming standard.
• With the rise in hyperscale and AI training facilities, activity is shifting to emerging regions (South Wales, Northumberland, Scotland). While these facilities are not latency sensitive, talent and power gaps remain constraints.
• When providers bring programme-level thinking and adaptable delivery models to the earliest stages of land and site acquisition, it accelerates connection readiness and overall project mobilisation.
   

“Over the last five years JLL has worked on numerous schemes across EMEA, analysing the feasibility of sites suitable for data centre development to support the digital economy. From Manchester and Leeds to London, Glasgow to Sunderland, North and South Wales, our assessments have established roadmaps and workstreams to deliver planning and power. Spending time to plan saves time to execute effectively and efficiently. When done right, provisioning a scheme will take anywhere from 12 months to 24 months; when done wrong, it can take several years,” adds Glover.

To deliver the digital infrastructure society now depends on, providers must overcome persistent supply chain disruption. According to JLL research, supply chain disruption remains one of the most persistent challenges, with elevated lead times for critical equipment, limited skilled contractors, and rising technical costs.

“Supply chain management is no longer a procurement exercise; it should be seen as an ecosystem rather than a checklist. It’s about developing relationships that will help mitigate challenges amid supply chain uncertainty. JLL has worked on modular data centre construction in the Nordics when this strategy has been effective in sub 20MW DC projects in reducing overall programme; allowing parallel on-site construction and off-site manufacture, minimising package interfaces, managing lead time, mitigating risks and controlling costs. However, to maximise these benefits, early supply chain and FM evolvement is needed to ensure, services to site, design, onsite and offsite works are dovetailed, minimising time to market, ” explains Henry Blunden, Head of Regional Cost Management - UK South, JLL.

Strategic approaches for data centre procurement:
 

• Early engagement with supply chain partners, especially for long-lead equipment, is key to reducing bottlenecks and achieving programme-level cost efficiency.
• Two-stage tendering and modular construction methods are emerging as preferred strategies, offering greater schedule flexibility and risk mitigation.
• Technology and data analytics—such as real-time benchmarking and AI-enabled scenario planning—now underpin informed decision-making and commercial control.
• Adopting a global reference design can unlock procurement advantages, but localisation remains essential for UK compliance, planning, and community alignment.
   

Ian Britton, Data Centre Project Director, UK, JLL, observes: “Embedding expert project and cost management teams from the outset ensures alignment to capacity targets, investor milestones, and operational launch dates. Early integration sets the stage for effective risk management and successful delivery.”

The UK sector’s rapid growth offers significant employment opportunities to build and maintain the backbone of our digital society, yet talent shortages persist – particularly in emerging regional markets.

The challenge is stark: significant workforce growth will be required over the coming years and, according to Uptime Intelligence, nearly half of operators (46%) already report difficulty finding qualified candidates.

Addressing this critical gap requires a combination of strategic initiatives. Effective sector responses include:

• Industry-wide collaboration: Shared training initiatives, such as apprenticeships and cross-company programmes, are vital for closing skills gaps.
• Community engagement: Proactive outreach to schools and local communities is essential for expanding the future talent pool and supporting long-term workforce sustainability.
• Early team involvement: Integrating delivery and cost management teams from the outset supports alignment with business objectives and ensures programmes are scalable.
• Regional talent strategies: Leveraging unique regional workforces, such as Scotland’s legacy oil and gas expertise, is emerging as a viable strategy, though infrastructure and power remain constraints.
   

EMEA Data Centres Project & Development Services Lead, Hanayyah Sutton, emphasises that these efforts must be integrated from a project's inception: "Best practice now means involving delivery and cost management teams early – not just to manage risks, but to build scalable programmes and create meaningful employment. It’s why we developed initiatives like The Leap, to showcase what data centres are and the opportunities that exist within our sector," she says. "Investing in talent is a strategic advantage for providers looking to future-proof their operations.”

Delivery of UK data centres is more complex than ever. Power constraints, procurement volatility, and talent shortages add layers of risk, but also open new avenues for providers willing to invest in intelligence, relationships, and collaborative strategies.

Ultimately, data centres are more than buildings; they are the engines of the digital economy, underpinning our essential services and bringing economic benefits far beyond their physical footprint. Data centres underpin digital society and bring economic benefits far beyond their physical footprint. In an uncertain, high-growth climate, the most resilient providers will be those who anticipate change, leverage partnerships, and act boldly – always with a focus on delivering this fundamental digital value to society.

Discover more about strategies for navigating power, procurement, and talent challenges in UK data centre delivery.

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