The west of England is stepping up its digital game with a new initiative that hopes to help unlock a £1.3 billion annual boost to the region’s economy powered by private investment in better broadband and mobile connectivity – a boost that will benefit the 16,000 local residents still not connected to superfast broadband.
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.
