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Westgate Global has launched a dedicated strategy for UK data centre projects as demand for new capacity rises across the country.
The strategy formalises work the company has already been carrying out in the sector across the UK, the US and Europe. Westgate has worked on 12 data centre projects so far this year and expects another 40 to be agreed before year-end.
The launch comes as the UK data centre market expands and contractors face pressure to deliver new sites quickly. Industry forecasts cited by Westgate value the market at USD $7.46 billion in 2025 and project it will reach USD $12.46 billion by 2034.
Government policy has added to that growth. Data centres were classified as Critical National Infrastructure in 2024, and the government has set a target of 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity by 2030, roughly triple current capacity.
Westgate focuses on screening and partitioning systems used on building sites and in live operating environments. In data centre construction, these systems help shield partially built structures and internal spaces from wind, rain, dust and temperature changes that can interrupt work on server rooms and data halls.
The company is presenting this approach as a way to manage build risk earlier in project planning, rather than after delays emerge. The message is aimed at operators, contractors and consultants trying to keep programmes on track as more projects move into delivery.
Weather pressure
Weather risk is central to the case for a dedicated strategy. Westgate warned that wetter, stormier autumn and winter conditions in the UK could disrupt construction schedules if protection measures are not built into project plans early.
Data centre build programmes are particularly sensitive because many activities depend on stable internal conditions before equipment can be installed. Delays at the enclosure stage can create knock-on effects for specialist trades and handover dates, increasing costs for contractors and operators alike.
Murray Gates, Chief Executive Officer at Westgate Global, said: "The UK data centre market is rapidly growing and the pressure is on for contractors to complete projects as quickly and efficiently as possible. Westgate Global's data centre strategy brings decades of experience working in challenging mission-critical environments to deliver a solution to the market that not only helps protect momentum on data centre builds, but actually helps accelerate project completion too."
Operators and contractors are also under growing pressure to compress schedules as demand rises from cloud computing, AI workloads and wider digital infrastructure needs. At the same time, construction inflation and tight labour markets have increased the cost of overruns, making schedule protection more important for investors and delivery teams.
Westgate's main product for this area is Flexiscreen, a wrapping system designed to enclose construction structures while work continues inside. The system is intended to reduce stoppages caused by poor weather and contamination risks during critical build phases.
Sector expansion
Westgate's presence in the data centre sector appears to have grown quietly alongside broader demand for digital infrastructure. Best known for temporary screening, partitioning and modular hoarding, it has increasingly targeted sectors where delays carry high operational or financial costs, including government, defence, aerospace, manufacturing and logistics.
Data centre construction fits that model because live environments and tight commissioning deadlines leave little room for disruption. The push to increase computing capacity in multiple UK regions, including Oxfordshire, North and South Wales, and the North East, is also widening the geographic spread of projects and increasing exposure to variable site conditions.
Gates said: "We are already working with operators, contractors and consultants to highlight the importance of weather risk management and the need for robust and reliable solutions. Given the pressure to deliver, allocating budget to this area of the build project from the outset is crucial to minimising downtime, especially as the market scales, and to avoiding snowballing costs further down the line.
"Data centre builds require specific weather conditions day by day to stay on schedule, but those conditions rarely occur and look set to become even less frequent. That's why it will be so important for the industry to move away from the common practice of patchwork fixes after a weather event and instead plan well in advance. Our weather is becoming predictably unpredictable."