Comment on completion of CityFibre's £90m acquisition of KCOM's national fibre assets

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive of CityFibre, commented:

"This is a momentous day for UK broadband infrastructure, which has seen no meaningful alternative investment for well over a decade. By combining the unique and highly attractive KCOM network assets with our own, we are well-positioned to tap into future growth in the rapidly evolving UK fibre market.

"With a significant presence in 36 cities, 21 of which are completely new markets for us, we are now established as a credible alternative to BT Openreach, and the largest independent provider of wholesale fibre infrastructure on a national basis.

"Moreover, the £180 million funding package we have closed equips us to push hard on commercialising the acquired assets, which we have already begun to do with our first new service provider relationship on the acquired Bristol network, as announced on 14 January 2016. It also funds our continued organic growth trajectory towards our medium term goal of dense network presence in 50 towns and cities, with an estimated addressable footprint of 35,000 public sector sites, 10,000 mobile cell sites, 350,000 businesses, and 5 million homes.

"This is a transformational acquisition which elevates us to a much more significant place in the UK network infrastructure arena and we look forward to continuing to prove out our strategy across a vastly expanded footprint."