Funds advised by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, and DTCP, an investment management group specialised in technology growth equity and digital infrastructure, are to acquire a majority stake in Community Fibre Limited, London’s fastest and most competitively priced 100 per cent full-fibre broadband provider, alongside its existing investors Amber Infrastructure and RPMI Railpen. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Community Fibre is future-proofing London communities by delivering 1 Gbps of full-fibre broadband to households and up to 10 Gbps of full-fibre broadband to businesses, at the most competitive prices on the market. Their mission is to empower communities through offering more reliable and affordable connections, and to make London a Gigafast city, a key UK government target. Today, Community Fibre announces ambitions to fibre-enable one million households by 2023, funded by the new shareholders.
Unlike most other providers, they launch and operate their own dedicated 100 per cent full-fibre network. Running fibre optic cable all the way into homes and business premises helps deliver maximum speed, reliability, and efficiency, with zero use of legacy copper.
The market opportunity for Community Fibre is significant. Demand for high speed, high quality internet to the home (FTTH) and to businesses (FTTB) is growing exponentially, yet a large proportion of the UK’s capital is offered some of the poorest and slowest broadband services in Europe.
Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, says: “This is an exciting deal for Community Fibre. Having Warburg Pincus and DTCP on board is a tremendous endorsement for our business. In a post Covid-19 world, digital connectivity will be more crucial than ever. With further new investment, we can work faster than ever to deliver 100 per cent full-fibre broadband to social housing residents and to local communities and their businesses across London.“
On completion of the transaction, expected within a few weeks, Olaf Swantee will join Community Fibre as Executive Chairman. Swantee was formerly CEO of Sunrise Communications, the second largest telecoms provider in Switzerland and CEO of EE.
Swantee, Incoming Executive Chairman at Community Fibre, says: “I am excited to be joining a business in a sector that I am passionate about, where there is a clear vision and purpose. Working alongside blue chip investors such as Warburg Pincus, DTCP, Amber Infrastructure, and RPMI Railpen, will also open up new and exciting growth opportunities.”
Greenhill advised Warburg Pincus and DTCP. Jefferies International Limited advised Community Fibre and its shareholders.
