- CityFibre completes the transaction, assuming full ownership of Lit Fibre from Newlight Partners.
- Integration of Lit Fibre’s network is underway and will provide CityFibre’s partners with the same market-leading products, pricing and service.
- CityFibre will continue to expand Lit Fibre’s current footprint to up to 300,000 premises by early 2025.
14 May, 2024, London: CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has now completed its acquisition of Lit Fibre (Lit) from Newlight Partners. The share-based acquisition, announced two months ago, will accelerate CityFibre’s nationwide full fibre rollout by up to 300,000 premises as part of its 8m rollout programme and will see Newlight Partners join as minority shareholders.
Lit is a vertically integrated altnet, comprising a network builder and Internet Service Provider (ISP). It has a current footprint of over 220,000 premises across more than 20 towns in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Worcestershire, Essex and Suffolk, and serves a subscriber base of approximately 10,000 retail customers.
CityFibre has worked closely with Lit’s management team over the last two months to begin the integration of Lit’s 10Gbps XGS-PON network infrastructure into CityFibre’s carrier-grade network. The integration will be completed later this year, enabling CityFibre’s ISP partners to access the same market-leading products, pricing and service experience across the extended footprint.
CityFibre intends to complete Lit’s work-in-progress deployment as well as the majority of its planned network rollouts. In total, the network is expected to reach up to 300,000 premises by early 2025. Lit’s network is built exclusively using existing poles and ducts and benefits from a highly attractive build cost per premises.
Lit’s swift network integration will be prioritised, while the full fibre broadband services enjoyed by its customers will not be affected as a result of the transaction. As a wholesale-only operator, CityFibre will explore options for the retail ISP following the integration of the network.
The acquisition of Lit is the first of several deals CityFibre expects to close over the next two years. It follows CityFibre’s decision to pursue altnet acquisitions as a strategic growth driver towards and potentially beyond its 8m premises target, cementing its position as the UK’s third digital infrastructure platform of scale.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said: “We’re delighted to have concluded our acquisition and we’d like to welcome everyone at Lit to the CityFibre team. We’re also pleased to welcome Newlight Partners, with their deep understanding of the fibre infrastructure market, as our newest CityFibre shareholders.
“We’ve already been working hard with the great team at Lit to ensure that its network is integrated quickly as our partners are excited to begin marketing over the new footprint. This is a great opportunity for us to hone our integration capabilities as acquisition becomes an increasing accelerant to our 8m plan.”
Joshua Ho-Walker, Partner at Newlight Partners, said: “We are excited to be CityFibre’s newest shareholder and we look forward to helping bring CityFibre’s market-leading, full-fibre platform to 8m homes in the UK. This acquisition is important recognition for the high-quality business that Lit Fibre built and we are grateful for the Lit Fibre team’s hard work and dedication over the past few years.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Lit Fibre is currently available in Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Redditch, Melksham, Harpenden, Sutton Coldfield, Chippenham, Cirencester, Evesham, Clacton-on-Sea, Bishops Stortford and Sudbury, with installation underway in St Albans, Chelmsford, Welwyn Garden City, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Potters Bar.
- Newlight Partners were early investors in Hyperoptic and their current investment portfolio includes metro and long-haul fibre specialists euNetworks.
About CityFibre:
CityFibre is the UK’s largest independent Full Fibre infrastructure platform, providing carrier-neutral digital infrastructure to its wholesale customers and enabling ultra-fast, reliable and futureproof broadband, ethernet and 5G services to serve homes and businesses as well as schools, hospitals and GPs surgeries.
CityFibre’s Full Fibre network rollout programme targets up to a third of the UK market; representing up to 8m homes, 800k businesses, 400k local authority sites and 250k 5G access points. CityFibre has already announced 285 cities, towns and villages that will receive a transformational digital upgrade as part of the nationwide rollout.
As the only 100% Full Fibre wholesale network in the UK, CityFibre is trusted by major Internet Service Providers and mobile operators including TalkTalk, Three, Vodafone and Zen as well as a new generation of smaller regional ISPs dedicated to delivering full fibre broadband.
CityFibre is based in London and is owned by funds managed by Antin Infrastructure Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company and Interogo Holding.
About Lit Fibre:
Lit Fibre delivers full fibre internet connections of the highest quality to towns and small cities of the UK. Established in 2021 by Tom Williams and Ben Bresler, Lit now delivers full fibre internet services to more than 20 towns and cities in the UK.
Quality is at the heart of everything Lit does, from excellence in network build to exceptional customer service. With a 4.9-star rating on Trustpilot, customers value Lit’s products and services that meet the technology demand of today’s households.
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