A major £10bn investment which will create thousands of jobs in the North East has been announced by the Prime Minister in New York today.
The deal with US investment company Blackstone, facilitated by the Office for Investment, will create the biggest AI data centre in Europe, boosting the UK’s world leading capabilities in the AI sector and driving growth in the local community.
Over 4,000 jobs will be created as a result, including 1,200 roles dedicated to the construction of the site in Blyth, Northumberland.
Construction on the site is expected to begin next year, with the data centres set to store the vast amount of data needed to power AI, and to store the information generated by AI systems.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The number one mission of my government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits – and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan.
“New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business.”
The local community in Blyth – which suffered as a result of the failure of BritishVolt – will also directly benefit from the investment, with Blackstone confirming it will invest £110m into a fund – supporting further skills training and transport infrastructure in the area.
The UK is already home to the highest number of data centres in Western Europe.
Jon Gray, President and chief operating officer of Blackstone, said: “The UK is a top investment market for Blackstone because of its powerful combination of talent and innovation along with a highly transparent legal system.
“We are making significant commitments to building social housing, facilitating the energy transition, growing life sciences companies and developing critical infrastructure needed to fuel the digital economy.
“This includes a projected £10bn investment to build one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data centres supporting 4,000 jobs. Blackstone is committed to Britain.”
The news comes ahead of the UK’s International Investment Summit in October, which is set to bring together hundreds of leading CEOs.
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