Quickline has taken a significant step in its commitment to nurturing regional talent by welcoming its first cohort of telecoms apprentices, reflecting the company’s dedication to delivering social value as part of its four government-awarded Project Gigabit contracts.
Mon, 18/12/2023 - 10:30
Gigaclear has entered into a new debt facility of up to £1.5bn, which will be used to accelerate its plans to provide service to more than a million rural premises by 2027.
The facility is split between an upfront facility of c.£1bn and an uncommitted accordion of c.£500m.
It is provided by a consortium of banks comprising ABN AMRO, Credit Industriel et Commercial, HSBC, Kommunalkredit, LBBW, Lloyds, NatWest, NAB, NIBC, and SEB.
The UK Infrastructure Bank provided its guarantee product covering £240m of commitments.
Gigaclear CEO Gareth Williams said: “We’ve shown that despite high levels of volatility in the sector there remains an appetite among lenders to support fibre operators that can demonstrate a robust business model.”
The altnet’s footprint currently extends to more than 500,000 premises across 26 counties. During November, it was awarded two contracts, worth £26.5m, to connect around 10,000 hard-to-reach premises in rural Oxfordshire.
