Money man, Graham Edwards, Director , CX Tech Limited, seizes an opportunity to destroy a beautiful area in Scotland by building ‘the biggest datacentre in the world’.
The Tory Party Treasurer’s water company which he co-owns via an offshore trust in the British Virgin Island has won a £1.2m contract with HMRC, the Mirror can reveal.
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Graham Edwards, who has donated £5.5m to the Tories since 2011, is a director of independent water company Castle Water. Castle Water has profited from the deregulation of water supply to business customers by DEFRA in 2017, growing from a turnover of £2.9m in 2016 to £436m last year.
It is not currently profitable and runs thanks to £150m in loans from its offshore parent company in the BVI, our investigation with the Good Law Project found. Castle Water says it is UK tax resident but accounting expert Professor Richard Murphy says the offshore ownership arrangement means there could be “significant tax savings” for Castle Water’s owners, including majority shareholder Mr Edwards, if they ever sold the company.
Where companies are owned in tax havens, the new buyers typically acquire the shares in the offshore parent company rather than directly buying the UK subsidiary.
Prof Murphy, professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University Management School, said: “Castle Water Limited is owned by an offshore structure based in the British Virgin Islands which appears to exist for the benefit, at least in part, of one of its directors, Graham Edwards. The structure would be of greatest benefit if Castle Water Limited was sold.
“In that case the sale proceeds received in the British Virgin Islands would likely be tax free, subject to HM Revenue & Customs scrutiny. There could be significant tax savings arising in that case.”
John Reynolds, CEO and minority shareholder in Castle Water, told the Mirror: “You are correct that Castle Water Holdings is registered in the BVI but you should note that it is tax domiciled in the UK, so there is no tax structuring going on. Our funding structure is not unconventional and we comply with all tax legislation.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/water-firm-co-owned-tory-32923802
THE FERRET
Tory official behind plans for ‘world’s largest data centre’ in Scotland
11th October
By Paul Dobson and Jamie Mann
CX Tech Limited has submitted an application for Planning Permission in Principle (PPiP) for the proposed CX Technology Campus at the former Chapelcross nuclear power station site near Annan, Dumfries and Galloway………
work indicates that it could support approximately 1000 jobs during construction and create well over 100 permanent skilled roles, bringing long-term careers in engineering, technology, facilities management and security to a rural economy.”
The project, they noted, will be subject to an environmental impact assessment, further community consultation and “independent scrutiny” through the planning process.
The Scottish and UK Conservatives did not respond to a request for comment.
What CX Tech’s £16.5bn Data Centre Could Mean for Scotland
October 05, 2026
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CX Tech Limited has submitted plans for a £16.5bn data centre campus at Chapelcross, led by Chief Executive Graeme Anderson in the south of Scotland
Plans have been formally submitted for a 1GW data centre-led technology campus in Scotland, in what could become one of the UK’s largest new digital infrastructure developments.
CX Tech Limited has lodged an application for Planning Permission in Principle for the CX Technology Campus at Chapelcross, near Annan in the South of Scotland, a site once home to one of the country’s first commercial nuclear power stations.
If the plans are accepted, CX Tech would invest a total of £16.5 billion in the project, equivalent to US$21.83bn.
https://datacentremagazine.com/news/what-cx-techs-16-5bn-data-centre-could-mean-for-scotland
Scottish Green MSP calls for rejection of data centre at former nuclear plant
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The site of a former nuclear plant could become home to a massive data centre if plans are approved.
The facility at Chapelcross was the first in the country when it opened near Annan in 1959 on what had been a World War II airfield.
Production stopped in 2004 and decommissioning began. Now plans have been submitted to build a £16.5bn data centre at the site.
With a capacity of 1GW, it would be amongst the biggest in the world with annual power consumption equivalent to that of up to two million homes.
The application comes amidst debate over data centre strategy in Scotland, with new national guidance expected by the end of the year.
Developers claim the Dumfries and Galloway project could result in 750 jobs during the construction phase and support 500 full-time posts thereafter. If approved, it would take up to eight years to complete.
Graeme Anderson, chief executive of applicant CX Tech, called the scheme “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the region and the country.
He said: “Chapelcross has the potential to bring together our renewable energy strengths, digital infrastructure and high-value jobs in a way that few other sites can.
“We have an opportunity to seize that potential now, creating a new economic future for a site that has played an important role in Scotland’s energy story for generations.”
However, there is opposition to the development, with concerns raised over the environmental impact and effects on local communities.
South Scotland MSP Laura Moodie, of the Scottish Greens, has called for the bid to be rejected. She said: “The site at Chapelcross should be the best place to put a data centre by utilising a decommissioned brownfield site.
“But the proposal which has been lodged is reckless and endangers our energy supply and natural environment.”
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