The site that once housed one of the largest Coca-Cola bottling plants in Europe is preparing to be reborn as a strategic data hub in southern Madrid. The American firm Thor Equities Group has acquired the industrial land in Fuenlabrada, where the iconic factory operated, with plans to build Madrid One, a massive data center for which it anticipates an investment of 600 million euros.
The transaction has been completed by Stoneweg, a Swiss real estate advisory firm that acquired the land in 2020 on behalf of the Icona Capital Group, concluding a process that brings attention back to a location marked by controversy: the plant’s closure in 2014 resulted in the dismissal of about 800 workers, generating a lengthy legal battle that reached the Supreme Court.
A Data Center in the Industrial Heart of Madrid
The 211,000 square meters of land, located in the Niño del Remedio Industrial Park, boasts a prime location to the southwest of the capital, connected to major transport routes and with direct access to dark fiber networks and committed power supply. The first phase of the project envisions a capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), which can be expanded to over 100 MW, making Madrid One one of the largest data center campuses in the region.
"In a market with energy restrictions, Madrid One will benefit from multiple power sources and exceptional connectivity with IP providers," the company highlighted.
Thor Digital: New Division, Global Ambitions
Madrid One also serves as the starting point for the new division Thor Digital, with which the New York-based group aims to position itself as a key player in the growing data center sector. The division will be led by Roy Gibbens, a former executive at Ark Data Centres, who will spearhead expansion in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region.
To execute this ambitious development, Thor has assembled a consortium of local partners and industry experts: Arnaiz as the land operator and developer, Quark as the engineering specialist in data centers, and Frank Hassett overseeing the overall design of the facilities.
Spain, a Digital Hub Between Continents
The choice of Fuenlabrada is strategic. Spain has one of the most reliable power grids on the continent and serves as a natural gateway for digital connections with South America and Africa, thanks to its geographical position and growing submarine fiber infrastructure. “Spain plays a key role in the new geography of data,” noted David Hunt-Cuadrado, director of Thor Equities Europe.
A High-Performance Real Estate Operation
From an investment perspective, the project represents a success story for Stoneweg and Icona Capital, which have transformed an industrial land deal into a strategic sale with high profitability in just two years. “This transaction demonstrates our team’s ability to identify unique opportunities in key markets like Spain,” stated Jaume Sabater, CEO of Stoneweg.
Max-Hervé George, founder of Icona, expressed satisfaction with the deal: “We have found in Madrid a location with exceptional potential for our investments in Southern Europe.”
Impact and Future
The project not only revitalizes an iconic industrial space but also confirms Madrid’s rise as one of the new data center hubs in Europe, alongside other capitals like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris. It joins recent initiatives such as the campuses of Interxion, CyrusOne, Equinix, and Digital Realty in the region.
With the support of Thor Digital, Madrid One aims to become a benchmark not just in capacity, but also in sustainability, energy efficiency, and global connectivity.
A new symbol of how classic industrial space is being reinvented to house the critical infrastructures of the 21st century: data.
Source: brainsre.news