Latos Invests £100m in Tees Valley AI Data Centre

Latos has secured planning approval for its first neural edge data centre in Stockton-on-Tees, UK. The £100m (US$134.8m) facility, due to open in early 2027, will provide advanced AI inference capabilities and reinforce Britain’s position in sovereign data infrastructure. Located at Preston Farm Industrial Estate, the site represents the first step in Latos’ 40-site national expansion plan.

Andy Collin, Managing Director of Latos Data Centres, underlines the significance of the development.

“From robotics to autonomous transportation, real-time AI is set to transform how we live and work,” says Andy. 

“But businesses need totally new data centre infrastructure to capitalise on these opportunities. We pioneered neural edge designs to meet this need. They support the most demanding workloads, are highly energy efficient and can be built faster and at lower cost than conventional data centres.”

Neural edge architecture

The Stockton facility will feature two data halls spanning 1,750 square metres and will be powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs. These systems are optimised for large language models and computer vision, placing the site at the forefront of AI computing.

Unlike traditional cloud-based centres, neural edge facilities reduce latency by processing data closer to end users. This design supports applications requiring rapid inference, including predictive healthcare, augmented reality and smart manufacturing.

The facility also guarantees sovereign data processing by ensuring British data remains within UK borders, addressing rising concerns about security and compliance.

Local ecosystem and demand

Tees Valley is emerging as one of the UK’s fastest-growing regions for startups, supported by strong manufacturing and engineering sectors. It is also home to the Centre for Process Innovation, a UK Government-backed manufacturing innovation accelerator. Latos expects this ecosystem to generate significant demand for its services.

By contributing directly to primary and secondary employment markets, the Stockton site will play a role in strengthening the local digital economy.

National expansion strategy

The Stockton facility marks the first stage in Latos’ ambitious plan to deliver 40 neural edge data centres across the UK by 2030. This distributed model will ensure no location is more than 50 miles from ultra-low latency AI services.

Future sites are planned in key urban centres including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow. Together, the network will create a national grid of AI infrastructure designed to support industries across sectors.

Andy emphasises the broader vision: “Our nationwide neural edge network is a fundamental shift from centralised ‘cloud computing’ models. It will help ensure British companies can thrive using AI, rather than being constrained by yesterday’s technology.”

Data centres for sovereign AI

As demand for advanced AI continues to accelerate, Latos’ strategy aligns with the UK’s push for greater digital sovereignty and resilience. 

By embedding advanced GPU-powered infrastructure across the country, the company aims to reduce reliance on centralised global providers while unlocking new use cases for British enterprises.

With its Stockton facility set to open within 18 months of construction and a wider rollout scheduled through to 2030, Latos is positioning itself at the centre of the UK’s AI infrastructure future.