AVK Capital launches to fund data centre power sites

AVK has launched AVK Capital to fund, own and operate on-site power infrastructure for data centres, with investment from Partners Group.

The new unit introduces a financing model that allows developers to secure electricity supply through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement instead of paying upfront for on-site generation and standby systems. AVK will continue to design, deliver, commission, operate and maintain the equipment used at each site.

The launch comes as data centre developers across the UK and Europe face growing pressure on electricity access. Rising demand linked to artificial intelligence has added to strain on grid connections, while long waits for transmission upgrades and limited capacity have slowed projects.

Against that backdrop, developers must also decide whether to carry the cost of power infrastructure on their own balance sheets before securing occupier commitments. AVK aims to address both issues by combining engineering, ownership and financing in a single offer.

Under the model, AVK will select and engineer the power system for each location. Depending on the site, this could include microgrids, PowerPods, fuel cells, renewables integration and standby systems.

AVK Capital will own the assets, while the customer will buy power through a long-term contract treated as an operating cost. That shifts the initial capital burden away from developers at a time when access to power has become a key factor in whether projects proceed.

Market constraint

The change is intended to address a problem that has become central to data centre expansion in Europe. Developers have often had to commit significant sums to backup and generation infrastructure before they can offer tenants certainty over available power, creating a bottleneck for projects already constrained by grid limits.

Ben Pritchard, Chief Executive Officer, AVK, described those twin pressures as the sector's main challenge.

"Access to power is the single biggest constraint on data centre development in Europe, and the cost of solving it is the second. AVK Capital takes both off the table. We already design, build, operate and maintain on-site power at commercial scale, and being able to fund and own it as well means a developer can contract for power in the same way they contract for any other service. That is what Speed to Power means in practice, and it is what the market has been asking for. No other business can bring the funding, the technology and the delivery together under one roof the way AVK can," said Pritchard.

He said the new unit does not replace AVK's existing operations. Instead, it gives customers another option if they want the company to take on funding and ownership as well as engineering and long-term operation.

"This is an addition to what AVK does rather than a change of direction. Core AVK carries on delivering the standby, prime and modular power our customers rely on, exactly as it always has. AVK Capital sits alongside that business and gives customers a clear choice. If they want to fund a project themselves, we will build it. If they would rather we funded, owned and operated it, we can now do that too," said Pritchard.

Funding and engineering

One aim is to remove the separation between technical design and project finance, which can slow decision-making. By placing the Partners Group investment inside a dedicated vehicle, AVK is seeking to create a direct path from site design to funding agreement, then to construction and operation.

That structure could appeal to developers looking to advance sites without waiting for full grid reinforcement or committing large sums before customer demand is confirmed. It also gives AVK control of the assets throughout their operating life, allowing the energy mix to change over time.

The business pointed to the option of adding direct renewables, alternative fuels and fuel cells as economics shift. Because the infrastructure owner would also be responsible for maintenance, decisions on upgrades or replacement technologies would remain with the same party throughout the life of the site.

Bob Downing, VP of Sales, Energy Solutions, AVK, said customers had consistently raised concerns about the way projects are structured.

"Customers have been clear that the funding conversation and the engineering conversation cannot sit separately. Bringing them together is what shortens a project. We can sit down with a developer, agree what the site needs, agree how it is paid for, and then go and build it, without a chain of handovers in between," said Downing.

AVK operates in the UK and European data centre market, where pressure on available electricity has become a defining issue for new developments, particularly as operators expand facilities to support AI-related workloads.