Google on Thursday said it will invest $1 billion on a data centre on the outskirts of London.

The 33-acre site in Waltham Cross, around 15 miles north of central London, was purchased by Google in 2020.

The Alphabet-owned company said that the site will bring “crucial compute capacity to businesses across the UK, supporting AI innovation and helping to ensure reliable digital services to Google Cloud customers and Google users in the UK and abroad”.

The UK government described the investment as a “huge vote of confidence” in the UK, with prime minister Rishi Sunak stating: "Google's $1 billion investment is testament to the fact that the UK is a centre of excellence in technology and has huge potential for growth."

This is the latest investment in the UK from Google, following the $1 billion purchase of its Central Saint Giles office in 2022 and its 1 million square foot office in London’s King’s Cross.

Google also touted the environmental qualities of the site, saying that it is looking into ways that waste heat generated by the data centre can serve as an opportunity for energy conservation that benefits the local community.

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