Investments
Cameron Barney advises Equitix on its £84 million investment in Freedom Fibre
May 2022
Fibre ‘altnet’ Freedom Fibre has secured a total £100m commitment of scale-up funding, just over a year since its formation, as the first step in its rollout to over 2 million premises in the North West.
Based in Greater Manchester, Freedom Fibre is a next generation wholesale Full Fibre to the premises (FTTP) network provider with a “B2B2C” business model. The company was founded by telecoms network entrepreneur Neil McArthur, who pioneered broadband and fibre networks in the UK including rolling out TalkTalk’s nationwide footprint.
Equitix, a leading global investor, developer, and long-term fund manager of core infrastructure assets, has made an initial £84m funding commitment into Freedom Fibre. The cash will accelerate the roll-out of FTTP by Freedom Fibre, which is predominantly through the installation of fibre across BT’s existing infrastructure.
Santander Bank has also signed a £16m debt facility with Freedom Fibre, which takes the total funding commitment to £100m.
About Freedom Fibre
Freedom Fibre is already offering ultra-fast broadband to almost 20,000 homes across parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester with minimal disruption to residents through its extensive use of BT ducts and poles. The Company is on track to reach 70,000 premises by the end of this year and expects to boost customer penetration through its wholesale agreement with TalkTalk to use its fibre optic connections. Freedom Fibre will be seeking to add other broadband service providers over time as it scales. The Company’s ultimate business plan is to reach more than 2 million premises in its chosen locations.
“Freedom fibre’s network roll-out will further our strategic aim to provide local communities with affordable, high-quality essential infrastructure. We selected Cameron Barney to advise us on this transaction because of their outstanding sector knowledge, structuring and analytical skills.”
“We are delighted to have advised Equitix on this investment into Freedom Fibre. We wish them and the excellent Freedom Fibre team every success in the coming years as they develop the business. This represents a further milestone in our long history of facilitating investment in the UK FTTP sector: Cameron Barney – “where fibre gets financed”.”
About Cameron Barney
Cameron Barney is an independent merchant bank providing financing and M&A advice to fast-growing companies in the ‘infra-tech’ sector. Cameron Barney is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
For further information please contact:
Cameron Barney LLP
Charles Cameron +44 7785 292 019
David Scribner +44 7392 802 624
