Microsoft has reaffirmed that its $30 billion investment plan for the UK will remain unchanged despite its withdrawal from Nscale’s planned AI data centre in Loughton, Essex.
Darren Hardman, chief executive of Microsoft UK and Ireland, told the Press Association that the company’s decision to leave the Loughton project would not affect its broader investment commitment, which covers the period from 2025 to 2028.
“When you look at the 30 billion dollar investment between 2025 and 2028, it is a small component of that,” Hardman said. “We are still fully committed to that investment package,” according to The Independent’s report on his comments, published on 22 October.
Aree Blog previously reported Microsoft’s withdrawal from Nscale’s planned Loughton AI data centre after concerns emerged that the site might not receive electricity from the grid until after 2030. The project had been expected to provide computing capacity for Microsoft’s Azure services.
Hardman also reaffirmed Microsoft’s commitment to its relationship with Nscale, with the companies planning to continue working together on data centre projects outside the UK. The Loughton withdrawal concerns the specific site agreement rather than an announced termination of their wider partnership.
Microsoft announced its $30 billion UK investment programme in September 2025 to support cloud and AI infrastructure expansion through 2028. The company has not announced a change to that overall commitment following the Loughton decision.
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