Hyperoptic, a major residential gigabit broadband provider in the UK, announced that it has secured an additional GBP 100 million in funding to accelerate the build of its full-fibre network.
The new funding is being provided by a consortium of four major European banks, BNP Paribas, ING, RBS and Dutch investment bank NIBC, with LionTree Advisors acting as exclusive financial advisor to Hyperoptic.
Hyperoptic stated that its fibre-based broadband service is currently available across 28 cities and towns in the UK, and over the past six years it has expanded its network five-fold to pass approximately 350,000 homes and business units. The new funding will support Hyperoptic’s plan to expand its infrastructure a further six-fold with the aim of making its hyperfast broadband service available to two million homes by 2022 and five million by 2025.
In conjunction with the new funding, Hyperoptic is also evolving its business model to deliver its services to sites with as few as 25 units and based upon the demand for its services and the proximity of its fibre network to serve smaller sites.
Hyperoptic operates its own dedicated FTTP network that enables it to offer symmetrical gigabit broadband services. It has expanded its network reach by over 100% in each of the last three years and has installed more than 20,000 km of dedicated cable.
Hyperoptic noted that it has previously received funding of over GBP 75 million, and that in 2016 the European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to provide GBP 21 million to support its rollout and addressable market expansion. Previously, in 2013 Hyperoptic received an equity investment led by Quantum Strategic Partners, a private investment vehicle managed by Soros Fund Management.
