nLighten, the digital infrastructure arm of investment company I Squared Capital, has completed the acquisition of UK-based Proximity Data Centres.

Proximity currently has a portfolio comprising 10 carrier-neutral edge data centres in Birmingham, Bridgend, Bristol, Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Rugby and Swindon.

“Through organic growth and strategic acquisitions this year, nLighten has grown into a leading pan-European edge data centre platform with 26 data centres, 53 MW of potential capacity and 130 employees,” said Mohamed El Gazzar, Senior Partner of I Squared Capital in London.

“We are excited that nLighten has grown so quickly and established itself in the three largest data centre markets in Europe: Germany, France and the UK.”

In a statement, nLighten said that the regional distribution of Proximity’s data centres align with the company’s strategy of integrating data centres into regional markets – with nLighten specifically welcoming Proximity’s high standards of sustainability, which includes sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable providers.

“The acquisition of Proximity brings us a big step closer to our goal of creating the leading pan-European edge data centre platform,” said Harro Beusker, Co-founder and CEO of nLighten.

“Proximity’s edge data centres are a great fit for our portfolio, and the existing management team, staff and assets lay a solid foundation for our ambitions in the UK.”

“Being part of the nLighten group of data centres will accelerate the expansion of our portfolio of new products and services tailored for the edge computing market,” added John Hall, Co-founder and Managing Director of Proximity.

“We will also be able to provide a highly comprehensive solution to customers looking for a broad network of data centres across multiple European locations.”

RBC Capital Markets acted as financial adviser to nLighten on the transaction.