CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full-fibre platform, has successfully secured £2.3 billion in financing and debt facilities. This significant investment eliminates recent concerns regarding a potential summer funding gap for the company, which recently partnered with Sky on a major distribution agreement.
The funding package includes £500 million in new equity from existing CityFibre shareholders, including Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Antin Infrastructure Partners, Mubadala Investment Company, and Interogo Holding. Additionally, CityFibre has secured a committed £960 million expansion of its existing debt facilities, backed by a consortium of lenders such as ABN AMRO, BBVA, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB, Lloyds, the National Wealth Fund, NatWest, SEB, and Société Générale.
“This round of financing will supercharge CityFibre’s next phase of growth, as we consolidate the altnet sector, accelerate the pace of customer connections and unleash the full power of our market-leading 10Gb XGS-PON network, for the benefit of all our partners, their customers and for the UK economy,” stated Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre. “There is huge opportunity ahead for CityFibre and it is testament to the success of the company that we have such strong backing from our lenders and shareholders. This multi-billion-pound investment into critical digital infrastructure will deliver significant benefits across the UK, helping to realise potential and unlocking economic growth.”
Further bolstering its expansion strategy, CityFibre also has access to an £800 million accordion facility. This flexible credit line allows for increased borrowing capacity without renegotiating the entire agreement, facilitating acquisitions and strengthening CityFibre’s position as a sector consolidator. The facility will be used to fuel the company's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) pipeline.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, emphasized the importance of digital infrastructure investment for economic growth, stating: “Today’s announcement shows Britain is attracting billions of pounds of investment, including through the National Wealth Fund, driving growth across British businesses.”
Enders Analysis commented in a note to subscribers: “This capital raise will not be the first of many across the altnet sector in our view, as CityFibre’s business model is unique, and now partially dependent on the struggles of others to encourage consolidation. CityFibre now has all the pieces in place to accelerate consolidation of the altnet sector, which will ultimately benefit the whole sector in ending unsustainable retail altnet competition.”