TalkTalk Swish Fibre bags &pound;250m funding

Swish Fibre has said £250m ($327m) of funding secured after it was bought by Fern Trading will help it “transform” full fibre broadband access across the UK, with initial plans covering at least 250,000 premises in the South East. Swish, founded in 2018, acquired Code Powers earlier in 2019 and plans to use Openreach PIA ducts and poles, together with a new ducted network, for its service, with plans to begin work in Q1 2020.

LONDON, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Swish Fibre Ltd has today announced a long-term funding deal that unlocks its ambitious plans to transform full-fibre broadband access in the UK and help boost the nation's coverage levels from 34th position to number one in the world rankings.

Swish Fibre funding unlocks £250m investment in UK full-fibre Rob Skinner, Octopus with Brice Yharrassarry CEO of Swish Fibre, signing their new agreement supported by their respective teams. (PRNewsfoto/Swish Fibre)

Work will now commence on the build of Swish Fibre's first state-of-the-art 10 Gigabit per second full-fibre network, enabling 250,000 properties in the Home Counties to enjoy world leading speeds. Initially focussing on locations within commutable distance from London, further announcements about specific build locations will be made public soon.

Fern Trading Limited ("Fern"), advised by Octopus Investments ("Octopus"), has acquired Swish Fibre. With growth plans that will see investment in excess of £250m over the next few years, Swish Fibre is now poised to create vital UK infrastructure to serve the data consumption needs of future generations. These plans will also generate a significant volume of new jobs over the next decade.

Swish Fibre is an established Openreach Communications Provider and obtained Code Powers earlier in 2019. During the build phase, Swish Fibre will use a combination of Openreach PIA ducts and poles, along with a newly-built ducted network to deliver its full-fibre broadband service. Plans are on track to be 'breaking ground' during the first quarter of 2020.

Sharing the same customer-centric vision with Fern, Swish Fibre is now extremely well placed to realise its 'beyond broadband' vision for better connected people, businesses and services across the UK. Swish Fibre was advised in this transaction by Cameron Barney.

Brice Yharrassarry, CEO of Swish Fibre, said:

"We are delighted that Fern, advised by Octopus, has agreed to acquire Swish Fibre and to support our agreed roll-out plans to bring fibre optic broadband to hundreds of thousands of new customers across the Home Counties."

Paul Latham, CEO of Fern, said:

"Swish Fibre has exciting plans to invest into the infrastructure of local economies in the UK and provide a substantial upgrade to the digital connectivity of communities. It's a perfect match for Fern, which has a track record of backing experienced management teams to turn such ambitions into reality and provide long term stable returns for its investors."

Robert Skinner, Investment Director at Octopus, commented:

"We're looking forward to working with the Swish Fibre team as they build fibre networks over the coming years for customers who are crying out for better broadband."

About Swish Fibre

Swish Fibre is a full-fibre broadband provider based in London, England. The company was founded in 2018 to build 1 Gbps+ FTTP networks to help people work, surf and play beyond the limitations of today's broadband network. The Swish Fibre team brings together extensive experience in infrastructure development and consumer ISP retailing. Brice Yharrassarry, CEO, has a track record of substantial value creation in the renewable energy sector as a founder of Akuo Energy. The senior management team previously worked in ISP management, telecommunications and construction roles with Gigaclear, RM, BT, SSE Telecoms and UK Power Networks.

For more information, please visit swishfibre.com.

About Fern

Fern Trading Limited began operations in 2010 and has grown to become the parent company of a large trading group. This group now comprises more than 200 companies with business interests spread across the UK in renewable energy, healthcare and fibre broadband. Fern operates in sectors that are making a valuable contribution for the long term and is currently the UK's largest producer of solar energy from commercial-scale sites. Visit ferntrading.com for more information.

About Octopus

Octopus is a group of innovative, entrepreneurial businesses investing in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world. We are experts in financial services and energy, transforming these markets by offering our customers access to smart and simple solutions that do what we say they will. Today we manage more than £8.3 billion on behalf of retail and institutional investors. Octopus Energy, Octopus Investments, Octopus Renewables, Octopus Real Estate, Octopus Ventures, Octopus Wealth and Seccl Technology are all part of Octopus Group. Visit octopusgroup.com.

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SOURCE Swish Fibre