Yondr raises GBP £532m in debut green ABS bond deal

Yondr has raised £532 million through a securitised bond deal backed by two operating data centre buildings at its Slough campus near London. It is the company's first asset-backed securities (ABS) financing and its first bond aligned with its Green Finance Framework.

The securitised term notes mark Yondr's first entry into the public capital markets. Proceeds will refinance part of the 100MW-plus Slough campus, one of Europe's largest data centre clusters, where demand remains strong from cloud and enterprise customers.

The Slough campus includes three data centres. The first two buildings are fully operational and provide more than 60MW of capacity; the bond is secured against these assets.

A third building is under construction and is expected to become operational later this year, increasing capacity and expanding Yondr's footprint in the London market.

Bond structure

ABS financing is more commonly used in sectors such as consumer lending and real estate. In data centres, it is emerging as a way to raise longer-term capital against contracted, cash-generating facilities, while separating financing for a specific asset pool from broader corporate funding.

Yondr positioned the deal as part of a longer-term strategy for campus development and a step toward diversifying funding sources as it scales.

"Securing our first ABS financing marks a major milestone in diversifying Yondr's capital strategy and reflects the strength of our asset base and capability of our team," said Sandip Mahajan, chief financial officer.

Mahajan linked the strategy to broader investment in regional capacity as data centre development continues across the UK and continental Europe, amid constraints on land, power availability and planning approvals in key hubs.

"This transaction not only diversifies our capital structure but also reinforces our commitment to supporting the continued build‐out of Europe's digital infrastructure. As we scale our portfolio, it is essential that our approach to financing continues to evolve in both its structuring and its alignment with our environmental ambitions," Mahajan said.

Green label

The notes received a green bond designation following a second-party opinion from Morningstar Sustainalytics. The assessment referenced Yondr's Green Finance Framework and its alignment with the core components of the Green Bond Principles 2025 and the Green Loan Principles 2025.

Green-labelled debt is playing a growing role in infrastructure and real estate finance, including digital infrastructure. Investors are scrutinising how proceeds are allocated and how issuers report environmental outcomes, particularly for energy-intensive assets such as data centres.

Across its portfolio, Yondr has set targets including net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030. It is also focused on reducing water intensity and improving cooling efficiency.

The company also cited community-impact initiatives across its sites and said it will maintain allocation and impact reporting for its green financing programme.

Advisers and banks

Barclays served as sole structuring adviser and sole green structuring coordinator. Goldman Sachs worked alongside Barclays as joint lead manager and joint bookrunner.

ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, Nomura and Société Générale acted as co-managers. Linklaters served as issuer counsel, while Latham & Watkins acted as underwriters' counsel.

The transaction adds to a range of funding approaches data centre developers are using to finance larger, capital-intensive campuses. For operators with stabilised facilities and established operating histories, securitisation is increasingly considered alongside bank lending, private credit, joint ventures and project-style structures.

Slough remains a key site within Yondr's European portfolio, with work continuing on the third building, due to become operational later this year.