London-based construction specialist VKE Group has secured a reported £42 million private equity investment to support larger data centre projects and expansion across the UK and Europe.
The backing comes from funds advised by investment firm Leon Capital LLP, according to Construction Enquirer. VKE specialises in groundworks, reinforced concrete structures and other early-stage building work, including for large data centres.
Founder and chief executive Val Shira and the existing management team will continue to run the business. The company says the investment will allow it to take on bigger and more technically demanding construction packages.
What VKE plans to do with the investment
VKE says it intends to invest in staff, construction equipment and technical capabilities as it pursues work in Britain and continental Europe.
Shira and group managing director Patrick Timlin said data centre customers increasingly need contractors with the financial capacity to deliver major programmes. They said the deal would support further growth while allowing VKE to retain its leadership and operating culture.
According to the trade report, VKE recorded turnover of approximately £30 million and a £3.7 million pre-tax profit in the financial year to 31 August 2025.
The full transaction structure has not been made public in the reporting reviewed by Fish 4 News. The £42 million headline figure should not automatically be interpreted as £42 million of cash available for new projects: private equity transactions can include payments for existing shares as well as fresh investment.
A British contractor already working across Europe
VKE’s own company history says the construction business was established in 2013 and has carried out European data centre work since 2017.
Its published project portfolio lists work at Groningen and Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Odense in Denmark, including drainage, groundworks, foundations and reinforced concrete structures. These are essential physical components of the buildings that house cloud computing and AI systems.
The projects demonstrate that the investment is building on existing experience rather than marking VKE’s first move into the sector.
Why data centres are attracting construction investment
Data centres provide the computing and storage capacity behind cloud services, websites and artificial intelligence. Although much attention goes to processors and software, expanding that capacity also requires land, power connections, cooling systems, foundations and specialist construction.
The Office for National Statistics estimated, using an expanded research definition, that UK digital infrastructure investment reached £11.2 billion in 2025. This is a broad digital infrastructure figure, not a measure of data centre construction alone.
Meanwhile, the House of Commons Library notes that data centres were designated part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure in September 2024.
Growth is not without challenges. Electricity supply and grid connection delays are major constraints, with Ofgem consulting in July 2026 on measures intended to stop speculative projects from occupying scarce connection capacity.
For VKE, the investment is a bet on the physical foundations of the digital economy. Whether that translates into sustained growth will depend on actual construction contracts, project delivery and the pace at which planned data centres proceed.
Image: Fish 4 News illustration. The construction scene is representative, not a photograph of a VKE site.
