LONDON, Oct 19 — US tech giant Microsoft has pulled out of a lease for a data centre currently under construction in the United Kingdom citing delays in connecting the facility to the power grid, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti quoting a report from the Telegraph newspaper.
The data centre is being built by the British firm Nscale as part of a US$33 billion technology deal reached in 2025 between US President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The facility was originally scheduled to become operational in 2027.
Microsoft has walked away from a deal for a data centre in Essex, as the project has faced repeated delays, with Nscale’s management saying that they do not expect a power supply to be available until the 2030s, the newspaper said.
The Telegraph notes that Microsoft’s withdrawal leaves the project in limbo. The company was the only client that had agreed to lease the facility. The collapse of the deal also puts Nscale at risk, as more than 40 per cent of its revenue comes from Microsoft.
