Proximity Data Centres Edge 9 Bristol

Colo-X analysis

Proximity’s Edge 9 Bristol data centre is a 4MW, 1000-rack, Tier 3-standard facility. It was originally built in the mid-90s to the high standards of a large financial institution. Most recently the data centre was operated by Cap Gemini, who have now become a tenant of Proximity. (The same has happend at Cap’s sister site in Swindon, now Proximity Edge 7). Some data halls have previously had List X status.

Colo-X has long struggled to provide a solution to smaller retail clients wanting a Bristol data centre. This is because the previously best-placed options, such as Vantage Newport or Ark Corsham, are wholesale data centres seeking to sell huge capacity to the very largest users, and are simply unsuitable for smaller buyers. The Proximity Edge 9 Bristol data centre looks well placed to fill this void in the market.

Through partners, Proximity will offer fully inclusive rack and part-rack colocation solutions, offering network and on-site support as standard.

Proximity Data Centres Edge 9 Bristol facility description

The Proximity Edge 9 data centre Bristol is located on the Aztec West Business Park, right by Junction 16 of the M5. The site has quite a history as a data centre, most recently in use by Cap Gemini (who have essentially now become a tenant of Proximity, both here and in the sister Swindon site, which is now Proximity Edge 7). It was originally purpose built as a data centre by Sun Alliance in the ’90s, and was constructed to the demanding standards of a large financial institution.

There is a single, large data floor on the upper-ground floor. This currently divided into three distinct halls, with all the supporting infrastructure below in the huge undercroft.

A seperate but adjacent energy building houses four dedicated transformers, dual-diverse and independent power feeds, and 3 x 2.25MVA generators. There is currently around 4MVA of existing capacity, with most of this available as Cap Gemini are winding down their data-centre operations here. The site has historically had List X status.

No doubt some updating and refurbishment is needed, and we would expect Proximity to be starting this process soon.  The site also offers significant scope for expansion as and when needed. This could take place within a large area currently used as office space, or even on to the large car park in the future (the site was once home to 300 staff). Proximity Data Centres are now the freeholder/landlord.

The aquisition of this Bristol data centre shows Proximity continuing their progress as a fast-growing UK regional data-centre operator. They had 10 sites available across the country at the start of 2023, but there are apparently more to come as Proximity have a stated target of 20.

Technical stats