Company Announcement

• Addressing critical shortage of ‘last-mile’ AI-infrastructure in Europe’s next tier-1 markets
• Converting metropolitan land into power-connected, Ready-to-Build (“RtB”) data centre sites
• Constructing agile multi-tenant data centres, purpose-built for modern compute on ageing grids
• Led by former Global Switch executives and launched by Margaux Platforms

London, 17 September 2026 | The launch of Astor has been announced today to address the key challenge facing developed OECD economies in meeting AI and cloud demand: the shortage of power-ready data centre sites with sufficient capacity to support modern compute needs on ageing grid infrastructure.

Astor is a London-based developer of masterplan-approved RtB powered land and agile multi-tenant ‘edge’ data centre facilities. Astor specialises in high efficiency colocation facilities designed to overcome the ‘last-mile’ obstacle of delivering IT capacity close to end-users in grid-constrained locations. The business is led by Chief Executive Officer Elliot Dittes, formerly Global Head of Project Delivery & Engineering at Global Switch, together with four former senior Global Switch colleagues, Chief Technology Officer Benjamin Ryder, Chief Commercial Officer Robert Hogan and General Counsel Benjamin Worth. Astor’s Board of Directors includes Dan Wong as Non-Executive Chairman, formerly Global Co-Head of Macquarie Capital and Head of Europe at Stonepeak.

With Europe 3-5 years behind the US in AI and cloud penetration, ageing grid infrastructure and lengthening power connection queues increasingly pose a threat to Europe’s economic and digital sovereignty ambitions. Astor seeks to unlock speed-to-market for compute providers by giving access to shovel-ready land pre-equipped with an agile reference design that can accommodate the full spectrum of modern computing workloads. Astor specialises in <100 MW metropolitan ‘edge’ facilities which are carbon efficient and adhere to local architectural, environmental, and community standards. Waste-heat recovery techniques, low water-usage and stable voltage ride-through capabilities on the grid are key unique features of Astor designs.

Astor is launched by London-headquartered private markets investment firm, Margaux Platforms.

Elliot Dittes, Chief Executive Officer, Astor commented: “The next phase of digital growth demands agile infrastructure that can be delivered quickly even as access to grid power becomes more constrained. Astor meets this challenge by unlocking capacity where it’s needed most with best-in-class design solutions that adapt to environments and evolving compute workloads for the world’s critical technologies of scale.”

Dan Wong, Non-Executive Chairman, Astor commented: “Europe is not short of data centre demand. It is short of land in the right place, with power and the requisite technical expertise to unlock it. I am delighted to serve as Non-Executive Chairman of Astor and to be working with a team of this calibre at the foundational layer of the AI-value chain, where scarcity is most acute and value is created earliest.”

Conrad Lucas, Chief Executive Officer, Margaux Platforms commented: “Astor is addressing a more tangible issue than just AI-demand; though that upside is retained, modern computing needs are broadly underserved today by legacy infrastructure in the locations where capacity is needed most. The Astor team are proven global leaders in data centre development, with a 1.1 GW track record, and Margaux is proud to back them in addressing this gap.”

ABOUT ASTOR

Astor is a pan-European developer of masterplan-approved RtB powered land sites and multi-tenant ‘edge’ data centre facilities. Astor specialises in high efficiency colocation designs to address the constrained ‘last-mile’ delivery of IT capacity to end-users of data.

Powered Land | Astor converts metropolitan and network ‘edge’ land parcels into power-connected and permitted RtB data centre sites, unlocking plot potential for landowners and expediting visibility and speed to market for AI, hyperscale and enterprise compute customers.

Data Centres | Utilising a proprietary agile reference design, Astor facilities deliver responsive carbon-efficient capacity close to the point of end-use, where traditional designs are constrained. Power and racking infrastructure can be redistributed within the same floor space as customer needs evolve, without incremental retrofitting expenditure.

For more information, please get in touch via our Contact page.

ABOUT MARGAUX

Astor was launched in 2026 by Margaux Platforms, a London-headquartered private markets investment firm which specialises in partnering with industry-leading management teams to build, own and operate the most valuable real assets and freehold-backed businesses in OECD markets.

For more information, please visit margauxplatforms.com.