Unleashing the Power of Full Fibre in the UK
Rolling out reliable digital connectivity through new Full Fibre infrastructure to 8 million homes, 800K businesses, 400K public sector sites and 250K 5G access points is no small feat. That is precisely what CityFibre is set to accomplish in the UK thanks to a new £4.9 billion financing.
Convinced that Full Fibre ‘should come as a standard’, CityFibre is building a brand-new gigabit-speed network that aims to unleash all that the digital age has to offer to entire communities. By extending its networks to rural areas surrounding the 285 cities, towns and villages identified in its existing rollout, CityFibre is well placed to support the Government’s rural coverage objective, ensuring that millions of rural homes can enjoy the same high-quality digital infrastructure as urban areas.
Through this expanded rollout, CityFibre is establishing the UK’s first large-scale, carrier-neutral Full Fibre infrastructure platform, providing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and mobile operators with access to the nation’s most advanced fixed-line network and unleashing over £38bn in economic benefits to help level up the UK.
To support this landmark transaction, one of Europe’s largest ever Full Fibre financings, Societe Generale acted as financial advisor and debt provider for CityFibre’s strategic £4.9bn debt package. Fully committed to having a positive impact on the real economy, Societe Generale is one of the leading banks for transactions related to fibre deployment with more than €49bn raised across 51 projects in Europe.
* “Research by the consultancy Hatch (Economic Impact of Full Fibre Infrastructure from CityFibre’s Network), commissioned by CityFibre. Published 25 April 2022”, link to source: https://cityfibre.com/news/new-study-identifies-over-38bn-in-economic-benefits-from-cityfibres-rollout-helping-to-level-up-the-uk
With the digital sector playing an important role for the decarbonisation of other sectors, this important and strategic transaction is further testimony of the bank’s advisory expertise and leading position within the fibre sector. Societe Generale has an important role to play in the digital transition to help facilitate the development of equal access and affordable high quality digital infrastructure.
Over the last decade we’ve built a business that has transformed the UK’s digital connectivity landscape for the better. With our rollout now fully financed, backed by so many esteemed financial institutions, we have emerged as a strong national challenger. But CityFibre’s aim is not simply to challenge. It’s to be better. It’s to establish ourselves as the preferred network wherever we build, bringing higher-quality, more affordable infrastructure within reach of millions and unleashing the transformative economic potential of Full Fibre to help level up the UK. We have never been more confident that we will succeed