Equinix MA5 Manchester Data Centre

Colo-X analysis

The Equinix MA5 and MA6 data centre campus represent siginificant new colocation capacity for both the Manchester and UK regional data centre market, offering a combined 30MW of IT load. The first phase of MA5 is due to be opened in the summer of 2022 providing 6MW across 1440 cabinet footprints.  Colo-X estimates put the entire UK Regional data centre market at some 170MW in Q1 2021.

The sheer scale of this new Manchester data centre campus will be a big help in “pulling” fibre and carriers from the long established network hub of Equinix’s MA1 site (Williams and Kilburn House, former Telecity sites) which is the most important network ecosystem in the UK, outside of London.  However, the success of this will depend on whether Equinix are succesful in attracting numerous small scale customers or altnernatively sell this huge new capacity to just one or two large-scale buyers. It’s not impossible MA6 is reserved for more of a “wholesale” focus whilst MA5 is reserved for smaller and more numerous customers.

The facility offers a standard high quality environment which we would expect to see in these new sites.

Equinix MA5 Manchester facility description

Equinix acquired the freehold for both MA5 and the adjacent (and larger) MA6 in April 2020 from the Agecroft business park developer Vendome, with the two warehouse buildings offering some 200,000 sq ft of space. Agecroft Park is located some 3 miles north-west of Manchester city centre orEquinix’s MA3 Joule House data centre on Salford Quays.

The first of the buildings to be developed is MA5 which is the smaller of the two buildings, though both will see mezzanine floors installed to effectively double their floor area.  The first phase of MA5 will offer some 40,000 sq ft of net technical space, able to support some 1440 cabinets or 6MW of IT load.

We expect Equinix MA5 Manchester together with the adjacent site for MA6 will offer a combined 180,000 sq ft of net technical capacity of nearly 30MW of IT load.  This compares with Equinix’s existing Manchester capacity in MA1, MA2, MA3 and MA4 of some 11.5MW or 20MW across the entire Manchester data centre market (including Equinix’s sites).

In December 2021 Equinix advised clients they will be closing the relatively small scale, but long established MA2 (former Telecity and before that Internet Facilitators (IFL)).

Technical stats