Bouwinvest invests €50 million in US data centres

Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors has invested $60 million (€50 million) in Sabey Data Center Properties LLC (SDCP) through its parent company Sabey Corporation and investment manager National Real Estate Advisors. SDCP is one of the largest and greenest privately-held data centre owner/developer/operators in the US, as well as the sole data centre ABS master trust platform with an S&P A+ credit rating. In total SDCP has raised $270 million so far this year and the funds will be used to grow SDCP’s portfolio and capitalise on robust tenant demand for data centre space.

Bert van den Hoek, Senior Portfolio Manager North American Investments at Bouwinvest, said: “Bouwinvest selected the $60 million SDCP investment because of the shared institutional investor culture with National and the operational excellence, long track record and nationwide reach of SDCP, combined with the compelling nature of the deal in meeting our main strategic priorities in the US market. The data centres portfolio links to the megatrend of the digitalisation of the economy and the growing importance of this emerging real estate asset class in the extension of the ‘core’ risk definition of income-producing properties. But the key deal-clinching factor for us was that it is a more sustainable investment, with approximately 80% of the energy supply for the data centre campuses in the portfolio coming from renewable hydropower.”

“The Sabey partnership with National has been key to our success in expanding our nationwide data centre footprint and we are excited to begin a new relationship with Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors,” said Dave Sabey, Chairman & President, Sabey Corporation. “Demand for digital capacity will continue to increase, and SDCP is dedicated to meeting that demand.”

“We are very pleased that Bouwinvest Real Estate Investors - one of the world’s most respected investors - chose National to manage its inaugural investment in the US data centre sector,” stated Jeffrey Kanne, President and CEO of National Real Estate Advisors. “Bouwinvest’s commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible contracting align perfectly with National and SDCP’s pursuit of long-term, healthy returns in a responsible manner.  This investment brings the capital raised in the first quarter to $270 million, underscoring National’s deep conviction in data centre demand drivers in general and SDCP in particular.”