Microsoft pulls out as anchor tenant of Nscale's large SI data centre in Essex
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
An SI data centre needs not only customers but also electricity: until the grid is ready, the project stays on paper, and investors are reconsidering the company's price.
According to the Guardian, Microsoft told the UK company Nscale it is withdrawing from the agreement on the Loughton (Essex) project over concerns about power supply; it had been expected to become the anchor tenant. In 2025 the UK government called the project the country's largest sovereign SI data centre, with opening planned for next year. According to The Next Web, citing the Telegraph, grid operators had said the site would not receive electricity until the 2030s; Microsoft and Anthropic account for about 85% of Nscale's contracts, and its stock market listing is planned in a few weeks. Nscale said its relationship with Microsoft remains strong. Microsoft did not explain its reasons. According to Bloomberg (as relayed by AI Weekly), Nscale is aiming for a valuation of about $30 billion in its US listing, while a cohort of would-be investors, as the account puts it, are urging $16-19 billion, citing the company's operational slippage and a chilled market for neocloud listings; the retelling also notes that CoreWeave's shares lost 25% over the week. The material gives no confirmation from Nscale regarding the valuation.