VirginMedia O2 fibre rollout is on the Upp after new acquisition

Virgin Media O2 and, nexfibre have bought East of England fibre operator Upp.

Nexfibre is a joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefónica. It will roll out fibre to five million homes not currently served by Virgin Media O2’s network by 2026. The deal gives nexfibre a regional fibre network with low overlap of the existing Virgin Media O2 footprint. Virgin Media O2 will extend the reach of its gigabit connectivity to more homes.

Upp was launched in June 2021 under the name FibreMe, by four British entrepreneurs from BT, Orange, Ericsson, KCOM and Gigaclear and offers residential and business full-fibre packages. Its 4,000 customers will be offered Virgin Media O2 services, with no service changes occurring in the near term. Virgin Media O2 will integrate Upp’s fibre network and systems and offer Upp customers Virgin Media O2 services. 

The all-cash acquisition will increase the fibre footprint of nexfibre by 175,000 premises in the East of England. Virgin Media O2 will purchase Upp and nexfibre will ultimately fund the acquisition through a back-to-back of Upp’s network of around 175,000 premises. This second stage transaction is expected to be completed within the next year.

With Virgin Media O2 acting as a build supplier nextfibre, will expand its network in the East of England with an expected investment of upwards of £350 million to reach more than 500,000 premises by 2026.

“This is an important step to build a world-class fibre network with our wholesale partner Virgin Media O2 in suburban and semi-rural areas, Upp is will accelerate our rollout in an area where we expect to invest more than £350 million by 2026.”said nextfibre chairman Andrea Salvato.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, added: “ Virgin Media O2 and nexfibre have a clear strategy in place to be the biggest fibre challenger in the country, offering greater choice and competition to the BT status quo.”

Drew Ritchie , CEO of Upp said:

“We are looking forward to continuing the rollout of full-fibre in the East of England. It is an important recognition of the scale and quality of the network that we have built, and all the hard work and effort put in over the last two years. We’re now looking forward to working with the nexfibre and Virgin Media O2 team.”