Crown Hosting Data Centres

What Crown Hosting Data Centres does

Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited is a UK private joint venture, established in March 2015 between the Cabinet Office (25% equity) and Ark Data Centres (75%), that delivers data centre colocation services exclusively to UK public sector organisations. The company sells under the Crown Commercial Service's RM6262 framework as a fixed-price single supplier, with the Cabinet Office acting as framework authority and providing pre-accreditation across all government security levels (Official, Secret, and Top Secret). Public sector customers access services via an access agreement with no procurement necessary, while private sector businesses may also buy services for resale to public sector clients. As of the latest data, Crown Hosting serves over 300 UK public sector organisations, including the DWP, HMRC, MoD, Home Office, Cabinet Office, ONS, NHS trusts, and local authorities such as Derby City Council.

The underlying technology is operated by Ark Data Centres and centres on ultra-low PUE (1.15) infrastructure using direct air cooling and smart-building automation, across campuses in Hampshire, Wiltshire, and West London (24MW). The portfolio spans colocation from one cabinet to multi-megawatt deployments (rack densities 1.25kW to 30+kW), 99.999% power availability SLA, 99.9%/99.99% WAN SLAs, multi-carrier diverse connectivity, multi-layer cyber and physical security (NPSA-approved blast/ballistic shielding, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, annual CHECK pen tests), and infrastructure reporting covering energy, carbon, and water usage. In November 2022, the offering was extended under Framework II to include a shared hybrid private cloud model alongside colocation, positioning Crown Hosting as a stepping stone for the UK Government's Cloud First policy.

The business model is managed services colocation plus professional services (migration and onsite support), priced on a flexible pay-as-you-use basis with minimum volume commitments and contracts terminable at any time. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales into central government, local government, NHS, defence, and blue light services, supplemented by private sector reseller channels and HSCN connectivity partners (Redcentric, Exponential-e). Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company states it currently delivers £1.5bn per year in savings to the UK public sector, with a stated ambition of £7.5bn per year by 2029 and a capacity of over £22bn.

Name

Crown Hosting Data Centres

Legal name

Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited

Website

https://crownhostingdc.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crown Hosting Data Centres is a UK joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Ark Data Centres that provides pre-accredited, energy-efficient data centre colocation services exclusively to the UK public sector through the CCS RM6262 framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Data Centre Colocation Services

akta.pro primary industry

Data Center Site Development & Permitting (Land, Zoning, Utilities) (HDABACAM)

Keywords

• Data centre colocation
• Public sector hosting
• Managed hosting services
• Data centre migration
• Hybrid cloud infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Corsham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Data Centre Colocation Services: Crown Hosting provides colocation hosting services to UK public sector organisations through a fixed-price single supplier framework (CCS RM6262). Services include physical rack/cabinet space, power, cooling, security, and connectivity. The model is flexible with pay-for-what-you-use pricing, minimum volume commitment, and contracts terminable at any time.
2. Onsite Support and Migration Services: Migration services to help public sector organisations move from existing data centres with minimal downtime and maximum security, plus a full range of onsite support services complementing day-to-day data centre operations.
3. Reporting and Management Information: Accurate, meaningful reporting provided as an integral part of the service, including electricity usage, carbon usage for emissions reporting, and water usage for sustainability reporting, delivered in dashboard format.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

No substantive source content was provided in the input to describe what Crown Hosting Data Centres fundamentally sells.

Product overview

Crown Hosting Data Centres is a data centre colocation joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Ark Data Centres, serving the UK public sector since 2015. The core product is its colocation service (offered under Crown Hosting II / Framework II from 2022) providing secure, energy-efficient hosting at all government security accreditation levels via the CCS RM6262 framework. Add-on services include Remote Hands and Onsite Support, diverse connectivity with high-availability SLAs, and infrastructure reporting dashboards covering energy, carbon, and water usage. The portfolio is unified by a flexible, pay-as-you-use commercial model designed to support hybrid IT strategies and cloud migration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• £1.5bn annual savings to UK public sector; capacity £4.5bn per year
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Exponential-eminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 March 2018Exponential-e achieved Stage 2 HSCN compliance and now delivers certified connectivity access to HSCN central services as well as two geographically diverse Crown Hosting Data Centres. This supports the UK Government's aim for the public sector to put cloud first, providing flexible and efficient connectivity for health and social care organisations.
• RedcentricminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 February 2018Redcentric was the first managed services provider to deliver HSCN (Health and Social Care Network) access to Crown Hosting customers. Redcentric invested in physical space, equipment, and connectivity to connect its network into two geographically diverse Crown Hosting data centre locations, enabling NHS trusts and healthcare organisations to access Crown Hosting infrastructure via HSCN-compliant connectivity.
• Ark Data CentrescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2015Ark Data Centres is the operating partner in the Crown Hosting joint venture, designing, constructing, and operating the UK's most efficient data centre facilities. Ark provides the physical infrastructure, operational expertise, cooling technology, and manages all data centre campuses (Hampshire, Wiltshire, West London). Ark is the majority shareholder (75%) and is responsible for day-to-day operations, security, and maintenance.
• FujitsuminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCrown Hosting and Fujitsu have jointly urged systems integrators (SIs) to rethink their approach to public sector IT in the cloud era. Fujitsu works with Crown Hosting to provide integrated solutions to public sector clients, promoting the shift away from large multi-year outsourcing deals towards flexible framework arrangements.
• NvidiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrown Hosting co-hosted a free AI Clinic for Defence with Nvidia in September 2024 in London. Crown Hosting CEO Jason Liggins shared learnings on power, social values, data centre challenges, and implications for Defence. The event was an opportunity to connect industry professionals on AI in defence contexts.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• EdgeConneX: EdgeConneX specialises in hyperscale- and AI-adjacent data centre builds across Europe, including the UK, with sustainability and high-density capabilities directly comparable to Crown Hosting's AI/HPC pitch.

Broad incumbents

• Digital Realty: Digital Realty is a global hyperscale-and-retail colocation provider with UK campuses. Competes with Crown Hosting on carrier-neutral colocation and hyperscale build-outs, with overlapping ability to serve regulated, high-density workloads in the UK.
• Equinix: Equinix operates the largest global network of colocation IBX data centres, including several London metro sites, and competes with Crown Hosting for high-density, secure enterprise and public sector workloads. Comparable on colocation, interconnection and SLA-driven services, but operates a much broader commercial footprint.
• Vantage Data Centers: Vantage is a fast-growing wholesale hyperscale data centre operator with significant European and UK presence. Comparable on large-MW, high-density, sustainability-focused builds relevant to Crown Hosting's AI/HPC strategy.
• Iron Mountain Data Centers: Iron Mountain Data Centers offers colocation and hyperscale wholesale capacity with strong compliance, security and sustainability narratives. Overlaps with Crown Hosting on secure, regulated UK workloads.
• Cyxtera / Centersquare: Cyxtera (recently restructured as Centersquare) operates a global retail colocation footprint with deep security and compliance credentials, providing a comparable benchmark for Crown Hosting's regulated, multi-jurisdiction public sector offering.
• NTT Global Data Centers: NTT's Global Data Centers division operates large colocation campuses across Europe, including the UK. Competes with Crown Hosting on hyperscale-ready, sustainable colocation with PUE-leading efficiency credentials.

Direct peers

• Telehouse (KDDI): Telehouse is one of the UK's most established colocation providers, with key London docklands facilities serving financial services, telecoms and public sector customers. Directly comparable to Crown Hosting on UK colocation, SLAs, security and hybrid cloud extension services.
• Ark Data Centres: Ark Data Centres is the 75%-owner and operating partner of Crown Hosting, designing, building and running the same Hampshire, Wiltshire and West London campuses. Provides the closest direct comparison on PUE (1.15), security accreditations and customer base, though Ark also serves commercial workloads.
• Virtus Data Centres: Virtus operates UK-focused retail and hyperscale colocation facilities and is a direct competitor for enterprise and public sector workloads requiring high-security, high-uptime colocation inside the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crown-hosting-data-centres-limited
• Xx.com/crownhostingdc

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crown Hosting Data Centres