Cityfibre secures £1.12bn debt package to fund UK full-fibre rollout
Fibre network provider Cityfibre has secured a £1.12bn debt package from seven major financial institutions to help fund its rollout of full-fibre broadband across the UK.
Proceeds from the infrastructure debt package will be used to fund the first part of Cityfibre’s £2.5bn plan to bring full-fibre to five million homes, the company said today.
The funds will be used to deploy the technology in the first two million homes and to expand its existing full-fibre network in 37 towns and cities across the UK.
Cityfibre secured the debt package from ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Natixis, Natwest, Santander and Societe Generale. The package includes a £775m seven-year capex facility and a £300m ‘accordion’ facility.
Chief financial officer Terry Hart said: “The appetite from these institutions to support our financing is further evidence that Cityfibre’s strategy is the right one for the UK.
“As our networks are rolled out, this will benefit everyone, driving innovation and increasing fibre penetration across the UK, providing the future-proof digital connectivity the UK needs.”
The broadband infrastructure firm first announced its investment plan in October, saying its rollout would meet a third of the government's target of 15m homes by 2025.
Cityfibre said the investment will create 5,000 construction jobs and offer faster speeds to internet service providers and mobile operators.