Best Cloud Providers in the United Kingdom: Local UK Data Centers
- diyasjournal
- 24 minutes ago
- 5 min read
U.S. laws such as the CLOUD Act and FISA 702 may compel U.S. providers (or their parents) to disclose data even if it sits in Europe. GDPR — including Article 48 — restricts such disclosures without an international agreement (for example an MLAT).
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The safest path for many workloads is using fully UK-owned cloud providers operating in UK's data centers under UK's jurisdiction.
Selection Criteria - Best 10 UK Cloud Providers
Full UK ownership & HQ in the UK
Compliance: UK GDPR; ISO/IEC 27001; preference for UK public-sector aligned controls where relevant (e.g. Cyber Essentials Plus)
Services: IaaS/private cloud, managed cloud, backup/DR, security, connectivity
Local standing: UK data centre presence (not just reselling), references, and UK support
Detailed Profiles of the Best 10 Fully UK-Owned Cloud Providers
Data centers (UK): Multiple UK sites including London, Maidenhead, Manchester, Nottingham, and Glasgow; iomart states its UK data centres are owned and operated by iomart.
Services: Public/private cloud, colocation, backup/DR, networking/connectivity options.
Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 listed on iomart accreditations; ask for the current certificate scope and annex for your chosen service/location.
Data centers (UK): Redcentric lists UK data centres including London West (Hounslow) and London City (Shoreditch) and other UK locations depending on service.
Services: Managed cloud/hosting, colocation, connectivity, security services.
Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate published (verify scope and legal entity: “Redcentric Solutions Ltd”).
Data centers (UK): Memset states it operates two UK data centres.
Services: Cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, and related platform services.
Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 certificate published (verify validity dates and scope for the specific service).
Data centers (UK): UK-based delivery; for data centre facilities, Exponential-e typically uses UK colocation / partner data centres as part of its service model (confirm which facility and operator is in your contract and audit scope).
Services: Cloud, connectivity, managed IT, security services.
Compliance: Exponential-e publishes its ISO 27001 certificate reference (IS 545047) on its accreditations page; request the current certificate schedule and scope.
Data centers (UK): UK operations with UK sites (confirm the exact data centre addresses and whether it is owned vs. colocation per service).
Services: Managed cloud, managed platforms, security, and related IT services.
Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate is publicly available (LRQA document); verify the certificate schedule for locations and scope.
Ownership note: ANS was acquired by Inflexion (UK-based private equity). Validate “ultimate control” in Companies House filings and PSC entries for your procurement file.
Data centers (UK): UK regions are available (choose UK region explicitly in provisioning). Civo also operates non-UK regions; UK residency depends on your region selection and architecture.
Services: Public cloud and managed Kubernetes-focused services.
Compliance: Civo positions UK sovereign options, but certificates and scope should be requested for the legal entity and the specific UK region used.
Data centers (UK): UK hosting / cloud services; confirm the specific UK data centre site used for your service.
Services: Cloud hosting, infrastructure services, and managed hosting options.
Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 certificate PDF is publicly available; verify scope and dates for the service you buy.
Data centers (UK): UK data residency is positioned as a core control; confirm the exact DC operator(s), addresses, and audit scope (PeaSoup may use UK colocation/partner facilities).
Services: IaaS, S3-compatible storage, backup, DR (Veeam/Zerto options are commonly referenced).
Compliance: PeaSoup states ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus in product materials; request the current ISO certificate (issuer, scope, and locations) and any annexes.
Ownership check: Companies House PSC listing shows control by a UK individual (use this as part of “local ownership” verification).
Data centers (UK + non-UK): Mythic Beasts states it has facilities in multiple data centres in Europe and North America, including several London sites. Use explicit UK placement and document any non-UK components (backups, failover, monitoring).
Services: VPS / hosting and related infrastructure services (confirm the exact product line and residency controls).
Compliance: Mythic Beasts references ISO 27001 compliance in operational context; request the current certificate (if certified) and the scope/SoA for the service you use.
Data centers (UK): Six Degrees provides cloud and data centre services using UK-based facilities; services are delivered from UK locations, typically via owned platforms combined with UK colocation partners. Confirm the exact site, operator, and audit scope in the contract.
Services: Managed cloud, private cloud, connectivity, security services, backup and disaster recovery, and managed IT services for regulated workloads.
Compliance: Six Degrees publishes ISO/IEC 27001 certification and other security accreditations; request the current ISO certificate, scope, and schedule covering the specific legal entity and service used.
This list prioritises fully UK-owned and UK-headquartered providers with strong UK data residency; some use long-term operated UK colocation facilities under their control (not pure reselling). Scale and exact service depth vary across the providers.
Practical Tips - Best 10 UK Cloud Providers
SLA / uptime & geo-redundancy: Demand multi-site UK resilience (two UK sites) and evidence of failover testing.
Certs & reports: Request current ISO/IEC 27001 certificates (PDF), certificate schedules, and scope; ask for SOC-style reports only if they exist for the legal entity and service.
Jurisdiction controls: Put in the contract: UK venue, UK governing law, and handling of UK GDPR Article 48-type requests using the EDPB/ICO approach (no disclosure without valid international mechanism and transfer safeguards).
Data location & exit: Require UK region pinning, UK-only backups (if needed), and a documented exit plan (export formats, time, cost).
Network: Prefer direct peering at UK IXPs (e.g., LINX) and ask for documented DDoS/WAF/SIEM options where relevant.
Transfer paperwork: If any support, monitoring, or subcontractor access is outside the UK, require the UK IDTA (or other UK-accepted safeguard) and a transfer risk assessment.
Support: 24/7 UK-based ops, clear incident process, and response SLAs written into the contract.
Why UK-owned providers help with CLOUD Act/FISA risk
Foreign disclosure demands can conflict with UK GDPR and Article 48. Third-country orders are not automatically enforceable, and any disclosure still needs a valid international mechanism and transfer safeguards. Using UK-owned providers reduces exposure to foreign parent company obligations and can simplify legal control under UK law. You still need strong contracts, technical controls, and current audit reports, but the jurisdiction posture is usually clearer.
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Sources - Best 10 UK Cloud Providers
Laws and guidance
UK Government page for the UK–US data access agreement:
U.S. DOJ CLOUD Act resources:
U.S. DOJ page for the U.S.–UK CLOUD Act agreement:
EDPB Guidelines 02/2024 on Article 48 GDPR (official PDF):
https://www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2025-06/edpb_guidelines_202402_article48_v2_en.pdf
Providers’ official pages
iomart data centres (UK locations / services):
iomart accreditations (security/compliance overview):
Redcentric UK data centres (locations / services):
Memset “About” (UK DC statement / company details):
Exponential-e accreditations (cert references / procurement):
ANS certifications and compliance:
https://www.ans.co.uk/our-certifications-industry-compliance/
Civo regions (choose UK region explicitly):
Krystal ISO/27001 blog post (context + audit milestone):
PeaSoup document library (security papers / controls):
Mythic Beasts infrastructure (locations and footprint):
Six Degrees Technology Group – cloud and data centre services:
Certification pages / certificates
Redcentric ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate (PDF):
https://www.redcentricplc.com/wp-content/uploads/ISO-27001-2022-Information-Security-Management.pdf
Memset ISO/IEC 27001 certificate (PDF):
https://www.memset.com/static/documents/ISO27001-Memset-Certificate.pdf
ANS ISO certificates pack (includes ISO 27001; verify scope/schedule) (PDF):
https://www.ans.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ISO-27001-22301-9001-14001-June-25-June-28.pdf
Krystal ISO/IEC 27001 certificate (PDF):
ARO / Arrow Business Communications ISO/IEC 27001 certificate (PDF):
https://aro.tech/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Arrow-Business-Communications-ISO-27001.pdf





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