Data centers

Our lawyers have many years' experience in the data center sector, gained from working with a variety of players, including:

• equipment manufacturers; 
• cloud service providers;
• telecoms companies;
• financial institutions. 

Their wide-ranging expertise and knowledge of the specific challenges facing the market enable us to provide high value-added support.

Land Management 

• Expertise in real estate transactions, i.e. the acquisition, leasing and sale of data center properties (whether privately or publicly owned, and whether privately or publicly owned). 

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Real estate  

• Negotiation of cable supply and maintenance contracts for the data center's electrical infrastructure (terrestrial fiber optic networks) ; 
• Management of complex landlord-tenant issues specific to the data center sector. 

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Energy  

• Legal support for the data center's connection to the public electricity grids (distribution and transmission), and issues relating to the non-utilization of all connection capacity; 
• Review and negotiation of electricity supply contracts;  
• Review and negotiation of contract for direct supply of electricity from renewable sources;  
• Legal advice on the pricing of use of public electricity networks and the corresponding level of transmission tariff contribution;  
• Legal advice on data center participation in power grid flexibility mechanisms. 

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Environment and urban planning  

• Analysis of compatibility with town planning and environmental plans and programs (local urban development plan, territorial coherence plan, Master plan for the Île-de-France region, etc.); 
• Assistance with environmental assessments, public consultation procedures and compensation measures; 
• Choice of development procedures (ZAC, planning permission, etc.) and financing of public facilities; 
• Preparation of administrative authorizations (building permits, approvals, ICPE authorizations, land clearing, water law, change of use, etc.); 
• Support in developing urban planning documents, plans and programs; 
• Representation in litigation against administrative authorizations and any litigation against projects; 
• Relations with local authorities and public bodies (SEMs, SPLAs, etc.); 
• Analysis of urban planning and local taxation applicable to projects; 
• Monitoring of legislative and regulatory developments;  
• Development of data centers, from site acquisition and obtaining building permits to managing construction contracts and complying with environmental regulations. 

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Financing  

• Legal advice on the financing of energy-saving projects via the energy-saving certificate mechanism, particularly for the use of waste heat; 
• Joint construction agreements, project and loan financing, subordination and non-disruption agreements, financing, construction, sale and purchase of private cable systems. 

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Cybersecurity and TMC  

• Compliance with national and international regulations, managing the risks associated with data breaches and cyber threats; 
• Consulting on IT infrastructure operations, including outsourcing, electronic communications, cloud services and negotiation of service agreements for data center capacity. 

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Corporate/M&A 

• Advising investors, developers, occupiers and lenders in the technology sector, providing a global view of market demands and points of contention in data center-related transactions.

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Tax  

• Company spin-off/partial transfer of assets (identification of business activities and contracts relating to data center operations, and qualification of the movable / immovable nature of assets); 
• Assistance to operators with specific local tax issues (completion tax returns, management of tax bases, preparation of budget forecasts, etc.). 
• Energy taxation (e.g.: restructuring with a preponderance of real estate and qualification of connection rights); 
• Day-to-day business. 

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Employment, Labour & Pensions

• Workforce management in the context of real estate transactions and business transfers;
• Specific working time arrangements (shift work, on-call duty, etc.);
• Employee health and safety;
• Day-to-day support for operators.

 

Real estate 

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Energy 

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Environment and urban planning 

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Financing 

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Cybersecurity and TMC 

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Corporate/M&A 

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Tax 

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Corporate taxation 

Indirect taxation, VAT, customs duties 

Local taxation 

Employment & Pensions 

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Land management 

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