Lenders will take over the broadband altnet Gigaclear after the company has been struggling with its near £1bn of debt. The news from the FT yesterday Gigaclear is a rural fibre altnet across 26 counties in the UK and has 600,000 premises ready for service, and reports around 160,000 customers. The latest from the FT confirms now that the UK taxpayer is the largest shareholder via the National Wealth Fund, with 11 other shareholders including Natwest and Lloyds. The takeover comes at a cost which may be up to 40% of the loans and pushes out the existing shareholders Infracapital, Equitix and Railpen.
Update 09/04/2026 0927:
A statement from Gigaclear confirms this has been completed and views it as a successful recapitalisation of the company, entering into a new phase of growth. The restructuring was approved unanimously amongst existing lenders and shareholders of the company.
“I am delighted that we now have a satisfactory resolution of the negotiations with our shareholders and lenders on how Gigaclear is funded, and I look forward to leading the company through this next phase of growth.
This new funding means we can continue with our plans to add more customers to our network, remaining fully focused on our goal to bridge the digital divide in rural Britain and deliver ultrafast, reliable broadband for homes and businesses that need it most.”
Nathan Rundle, CEO, Gigaclear
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As the UK average take up for FTTP is about 35%. Gigaclear would be better of getting the 26% take up rate they have, to the national average rather than looking to expand.