Tech Giants Ring the Tills Amid Data Centre Growth

By the Editorial Team · Sunday, September 27, 2026

Nscale, a British data centre operator, is expanding with 12 new facilities underway, including key sites in the U.S. and Norway, while securing major contracts with firms like Microsoft and Anthropic. However, its plan to build the UK’s largest supercomputer in Loughton faces delays due to power grid connectivity issues, pushing construction back to the early 2030s.

Nscale, a British data centre company, currently operates five active facilities across Europe, including three in Norway, one in Portugal, and another in Iceland. According to recent stock market filings, the company has an additional 12 data centres under development, with new locations planned in West Virginia, Ward County, Texas, and Narvik, Norway. To date, all operational centres have been acquired or retrofitted from existing sites, with Nscale yet to complete the construction of a data centre from the ground up.

One notable site, Glomfjord in Norway, was acquired by Arkon Energy—Nscale’s predecessor—in September 2022. The company intends to upgrade this facility by next year as part of its ongoing expansion efforts. Nscale’s financial disclosures reveal that a subsidiary of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, accounted for a significant portion of its revenue last year, contributing 73 percent of total earnings in 2025. While the stock filing did not explicitly name this customer, it confirmed their dominant role in the company’s revenue stream.

In addition to the ByteDance subsidiary, Nscale has contracts with major technology firms, including Microsoft, which has agreed to pay up to $44 billion through 2033 for computing capacity. Last month, Nscale secured a $45 billion exclusive deal with Anthropic to supply data centre space at its still-unfinished facility in West Virginia. However, the startup must meet stringent conditions, as each phase of the Anthropic contract requires approval of the hardware before proceeding.

Nscale’s ambitious plans also include building the United Kingdom’s largest supercomputer at a four-acre site in Loughton, Essex, with a target completion date of 2027. These plans have encountered delays due to connectivity issues with the local power grid. UK Power Networks, responsible for providing the electrical connection, informed Nscale that it cannot supply the necessary grid connection until the early to mid-2030s. The original construction site, previously a builder’s yard, has been cleared, but no active building work was observed during a recent site visit.

Company sources indicated that construction on the Loughton data centre will not commence until there is confidence that the power connection will be secured. Nscale affirmed its commitment to the project, stating, “We are committed to Loughton,” despite the extended timeline for grid connectivity.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.