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Financing data centres in the US and Europe: Part 2
In our previous article ('The key characteristics of data centres in the US and Europe: an overview for those involved in financings – Part 1' (2025) 10 JIBFL 694), in order to provide some background as to data centres as an asset class, we looked at data centres' real estate fundamentals, where in the world they are located, and different types of data centre. We also touched on concerns around energy, electricity, heating, cooling and water, all of which in turn make ESG topical in the context of data centres.
In this second article, we will discuss the financing of data centres, focusing particularly on the capital markets. No consideration of this topic would be complete without considering the pre-eminent US data centre financing market, so we will look at this, and in particular the division there between asset-backed securitisations and commercial mortgage-backed securitisations. We then move on to consider recent European data centre financings; their key features and how we expect this financing market to develop.
In this article we will not explain the basic fundamentals of financings, as this is intended for an audience which is already reasonably familiar with these structures.
Debt relief moratoria: important issues for creditors
The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020/1311 (the Regulations), which were made under s 7 Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018, created two types of debt relief moratorium:
(i) the breathing space moratorium, providing short term relief to debtors to enable them to obtain debt advice; and
(ii) the mental health crisis moratorium, providing relief to debtors undergoing a mental health crisis.
A moratorium affords the debtor far-reaching protection by significantly restricting the rights of affected creditors during the lifetime of the moratorium, most notably the right to take enforcement action.
There have now been a number of cases considering the Regulations but, as this article explains, aspects of their operation are ill-defined, and their scope remains uncertain in important ways. This article identifies the contentious and problematic elements of the Regulations and surveys the case law.
Loan participations: conflict-of-laws challenges under English and New York law
This article examines the divergent treatment of loan participations under English and New York law, focussing on how each jurisdiction characterises the legal relationship between grantor and participant. It explores the conflict-of-laws challenges that arise when structuring cross-border financing transactions in which the underlying loan and participation agreement may be governed by different legal systems.
22 November 2025Walking away: lessons from the Vietjet litigation for retiring security trustees
In this article, Rebecca Zaman considers lessons to be learned from the recent VietJet litigation for a security trustee navigating its retirement and replacement as trustee, particularly in the context of a sale or other change of control of the lending.
25 October 2025Arbitration and insolvency in a sliding, multi-creditor context: Sapura and other common law approaches
A recent Singaporean case, Sapura Fabrication Sdn Bhd and Others v GAS and Another Appeal [2025] SGCA 13, provides welcome guidance on when arbitral proceedings can be carved out from a domestic restructuring and insolvency process. Continuing the debate about the clash between arbitration and insolvency, Sapura adds two new dimensions: the multi-creditor context and a sliding timescale. This article examines how best to interpret these novel elements in light of the spirit of the insolvency regime, namely facilitating the fair administration of assets according to creditors’ legal entitlements rather than a free-for-all favouring the most well-resourced and well-advised.
25 October 2025Securities lending in the age of PISCES
The UK’s capital markets are eagerly awaiting the implementation of a new private company secondary trading platform following the adoption of the final rules for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) in June 2025. In the next six months, the London Stock Exchange and potentially other operators are expected to have PISCES platforms up and running, thereby marking the debut of the first regulated market for the intermittent secondary trading of private company shares.1 The timing seems auspicious: public listings in the UK and Europe have fallen to historic lows as private companies increasingly pursue alternative routes to liquidity.2 As private markets mature and investor demand grows, the PISCES framework may unlock opportunities for private company share lending, although such arrangements raise significant questions around valuation, settlement, transfer restrictions and alignment with existing share lending market practices.
25 October 2025Uniform prospectus liability rules for Europe now!
The harmonisation of the rules on prospectus liability should be put on the agenda of the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) as a matter of urgency. The International Working Group on Harmonisation of Prospectus Liability in Europe (IWGHPLE), a private group of academics and practitioners from different EU member states and beyond (led by the authors of this article), has recently drafted a concrete blueprint for uniform European prospectus liability rules. The blueprint could serve as a model for the European legislator in its efforts to overcome the current fragmentation of the EU’s legal framework. The blueprint covers all aspects pertaining to prospectus liability.
25 October 2025Managing currency risk in emerging Asia investment: towards diversification
Nicola Yeomans undertakes a review of existing legal and financial mechanisms for managing currency risk in private capital investment into emerging Asia and assesses the 2024 ABAC recommendations for alternative mechanisms for managing the risk through a bond linked to a diversified basket of currencies.
25 October 2025The key characteristics of data centres in the US and Europe: an overview for those involved in financings – Part 1
In this first article of two, we seek to provide some background for those involved or interested in the financing of data centres, we describe what a data centre is, who uses it and some of its typical key features and hot topics. In a second article, we will consider how data centres are financed, both in the US and Europe, with a particular focus on the securitisation market.
25 October 2025Anti-suit injunctions outside contract: a new beginning
The decisions in Broad Idea and Wolverhampton provide a much-needed opportunity for the courts to re-shape the grounds on which they will restrain foreign proceedings outside those cases involving jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. The article offers an outline of a new account, which covers a large part of the field, founded on the applicant’s interest in the just and efficient resolution of their dispute and a principle of protecting the English natural forum from interference.
25 October 2025
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