News

ITS secures £100m for UK full fibre rollout

ITS Technology Group has secured a further £100m investment from, Aviva Investors, an existing investor, to continue to accelerate the rollout of its Faster Britain full fibre networks which is on track to pass 25 per cent of UK business premises by the end of this year.

Since securing the first round of funding from Aviva Investors in early 2020 (£45m), ITS has significantly increased its network footprint. The company’s its indirect wholesale partner programme has also grown substantially, with more than 300 reseller, internet service provider, and managed service provider partners now able to access and provide gigabit-capable connectivity to end-users.

Daren Baythorpe, CEO of ITS (pictured), said, “I am delighted to extend our partnership with Aviva Investors. We have made significant progress over the last two years, building a highly skilled team, scalable delivery capabilities, and creating a substantial full fibre footprint.

“This further commitment will enable us to continue to rollout our open access wholesale digital infrastructure at pace, giving more businesses access to the connectivity solutions they need to underpin their operations.”

Sean McLachlan, senior director, infrastructure, at Aviva Investors, added, “We are very pleased to continue our relationship with ITS and to support the extended rollout of its fibre networks across the UK. There has been a huge structural shift in data usage in recent years which continues to accelerate, and the continued investment in digital connectivity is fundamental to supporting how society functions today and tomorrow.

“ITS has made significant progress and outlined a clear vision to address this need. Combined with a strong team and expertise, we think this presents a compelling investment opportunity and look forward to working in partnership with them.”

ITS reuses existing infrastructure to build its full fibre networks and uses the latest XGS-PON technology across its networks to remotely scale its service from more standard broadband to 10Gbps Ethernet leased lines.

Dow Schofield Watts acted as sole financial advisor on the transaction, RSM as tax advisors, and BDB Pitmans LLP provided legal advice.