Borderlink secures £164m funding for rural full fibre plans

Borderlink, which trades as broadband provider GoFibre, has secured a further £164 million investment from specialist asset management company Gresham House to accelerate its rollout of gigabit-capable fibre broadband in Scotland and the north of England.

Borderlink previously received funding of £10.5m in April from Gresham House’s British Strategic Investment Fund (BSIF) and has made significant progress rolling out fibre broadband in the Scottish Borders, Lothian, Northumberland and Angus. This new investment will allow Borderlink to go faster and further in their mission to connect local people and businesses to a full fibre network built for a digital future, and enable up to 500,000 local homes to access gigabit-capable speeds over the next three years.

Borderlink plans to recruit another 100 employees to add to the 70 hired since April bringing the total to 200 staff, and open new offices in Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh to bring further economic benefits to the region. John Seed, who has played a major role in guiding the business since its earliest days, is being succeeded as chairman by Chris Jagusz who brings extensive experience of running fibre networks, telecommunications and IT managed service businesses. Stevie Ingamells from Gresham House will also join the board as a director.

Alex Cacciamani, Borderlink CEO, said: “This investment allows us to bring GoFibre broadband to the people who have been left behind by the larger networks, ensuring that those in rural areas and towns have the ability to access the best broadband speeds and live their digital lives fully. We’re delighted that Gresham House recognise the importance of ensuring local people are connected and have committed to this long term partnership”

Peter Bachmann, Managing Director, Sustainable Infrastructure at Gresham House and Fund Manager of BSIF, added: “Alex and the GoFibre team have impressed us with their ambition, teamwork and ability to deliver on their plans. This is the largest investment the BSIF has made in fibre infrastructure which is testament to our confidence in Borderlink’s  plans. I would like to thank John Seed for his great contribution in maturing the company and we look forward to working with Chris and the team moving forward.”