Key facts
- Microsoft withdrew from a UK data center deal with Nscale.
- The Loughton, Essex, site faces power supply delays until the 2030s.
- Nscale relies on Microsoft and Anthropic for 85% of its contracts.
- Nscale is seeking to raise up to $3 billion in an IPO.
Microsoft has terminated its agreement for a data center in Loughton, Essex, with British cloud provider Nscale, The Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday, October 18, 2026. The US tech giant was one of Nscale's two largest planned customers. The withdrawal comes after the Loughton site faced a series of delays, with authorities indicating power supply is not expected until the 2030s. Nscale's flagship site in Norway is also behind schedule. The company, which provides infrastructure for AI models and competes with firms like CoreWeave, is seeking to raise up to $3 billion in an IPO. A spokesperson for Nscale stated that its relationship with Microsoft remains strong and long-term, and that it is exploring alternative power sources for the Loughton project.