Freedom Fibre secures £100m to fuel north west rollout

Freedom Fibre has secured a £100m commitment of scale-up funding, to facilitate its rollout of full fibre to over two million premises in the North West. 

This includes an £84m investment from infrastructure investor Equitix and a £16m debt facility from Santander Bank

Freedom Fibre is currently offering broadband to almost 20,000 homes across parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester and is on track to reach 70,000 premises by the end of this year. To boost customer penetration, it has signed a wholesale agreement with TalkTalk to use its fibre optic connections and will be seeking to add other broadband service providers over time as it scales.

Neil McArthur, Freedom Fibre CEO, said, “We believe full fibre should be a right, accessible to all, and not a privilege. This new funding is enabling us to support our long-term ambition to take fibre off the beaten track to semi-urban areas, providing fast, reliable connectivity with the best possible customer experience.”

“Hugh Crossley, CEO for Equitix, added: “Freedom Fibre is a strong business, operating in an essential infrastructure sector that has a critical role in providing connectivity for both the people and the economy of the north west.”

Freedom Fibre was advised by Oakley Advisory Limited and by Addleshaw Goddard LLP, along with PWC Debt advisory. Equitix was advised by Cameron Barney and by Shoosmiths LLP.