Netomnia, YouFibre secure further funding for fibre roll-out

Full-fibre broadband infrastructure provider Netomnia and ISP YouFibre have secured £295m in new funding.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Jeremy Chelot, who has a long track record in the full-fibre network sector, Netomnia has a stated aim of being committed to delivering a multi-gigabit broadband network across the UK, noting that the company was founded to level the digital playing field and bring customers the benefits of ultrafast full-fibre connectivity.

Netomnia’s network supports symmetrical multi-gigabit services up to 10Gbps using XGS-PON technology. Working with YouFibre, it has achieved more than 130,000 premises passed since roll-out began in 2020. Working in partnership with major UK construction companies, the two firms say they have a lean and scalable operating model that enables swift deployment, and the aim is to reach one million premises by 2023.

Netomnia describes itself as the UK’s fastest-growing wholesale fibre broadband operator and secured £123m in funding to support its roll-out strategy at the end of 2021. The new funding round was led by DigitalBridge Investment Management, the investment management platform of DigitalBridge Group. This equity investment comes alongside follow-on commitments from existing shareholders Soho Square Capital and Advencap.

 “We have known Jeremy [Chelot] for several years and are excited to partner with him in scaling the group into a premier fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) provider in the UK,” said DigitalBridge principal Manjari Govada. “We have been highly impressed with the growth of the business and the best-in-class team he has assembled.”

Chelot added: “We are thrilled to partner with DigitalBridge and benefit from their support and industry expertise as we work towards our target of one million premises passed in the next two years. We are scaling rapidly and aim to play an active role in unleashing the UK’s digital potential by delivering the benefits that come with multi-gigabit fibre broadband.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Vinson & Elkins served as legal counsel to DigitalBridge and Stephenson Harwood advised the Netomnia group and the existing shareholders in connection with the transaction. The group was advised by independent investment bank Greenhill.