American asset management company Blackstone will invest £10 billion in Northeast England to create “one of the largest” AI data centres in Europe.

The deal will be facilitated by the Office for Investment and the UK government claims it will enhance the UK’s capabilities in the AI sector.

The data centre will store the vast amounts of data needed to power AI, and the information generated by AI systems.

Around 4,000 jobs will be created at the the new centre in Blyth, Northumberland. The government said around 1,200 of these will be in construction and building of the centre will begin next year.

The government said the UK already has the highest number of data centres in Western Europe. Last month it took the decision to class data centres as ‘Critical National Infrastructure’ to signal to investors that the UK is a secure place to invest in and develop data centres.

“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,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “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.”

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