On 29 March 2017, the UK Government served formal notice under Article 50 of The Treaty on European Union to terminate the UK’s membership of the EU (following the June 2016 UK referendum on EU membership). As a result, the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and the deadline for the Brexit transition period designed to agree a new trade deal will close on 31 December.
Equinix is confident that there will be no significant changes to its business associated with the UK’s leaving the EU in the short term. The company has a highly successful and resilient business model that has delivered significant growth and demand for its products and services remain strong.
We are aware that customers are seeking further information from their vendors on their plans for Brexit. As the Brexit transition deadline is approaching and we are currently without an agreement, we have outlined below a high-level summary of Equinix’s preparedness if the UK needs to rely on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms based on common areas of concern for companies operating or purchasing services in the UK:
Goods: Equinix is generally not reliant on the transfer of goods for the ongoing provision of services to its customers and as such, does not envisage it will be materially affected (if at all) by the increase in import / export costs between the UK and the rest of the world as per WTO terms.
Services: Equinix’s services are performed locally in its data centres by companies incorporated in the UK and as such, we do not consider that there is a significant impact (if any) to our ongoing provision of data centre services in the UK to our UK customer base.
Suppliers: Equinix has worked with our suppliers to ensure that they are holding enough stock to support our ability to continue with new installations in the event that the UK needs to rely on WTO terms.
People: Equinix’s assessment of its UK business has identified that it is not significantly dependent upon the services provided by EU nationals working in the country to provide its data centre services. Upon further analysis, Equinix has determined that this is also the case in relation to UK nationals working for Equinix in the EU.
Compliance: Equinix operates data centre services locally in each country by using locally incorporated companies complying with local law. As such, Equinix will ensure compliance with all applicable laws, including those that relate to data protection.
Vendor management: Equinix has engaged with its vendors and has ascertained their readiness for a scenario where we need to rely on WTO terms. Vendors support Equinix’s business operations as a whole and only by exception would it appoint a vendor to support discrete tasks that form part an individual customer contract.
Thank you for your business and continued support.
Russell Poole, Managing Director, Equinix UK
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