UK alternative network provider Gigaclear has entered into a new debt facility of up to £1.5 billion ($1.9bn).
Gigaclear noted that the debt facility is split between an upfront facility of around £1bn ($1.26bn) and an uncommitted accordion of circa £500 million ($632m).
A consortium of banks including ABN AMRO, Credit Industriel et Commercial, HSBC, Kommunalkredit, LBBW, Lloyds, NatWest, NAB, NIBC, and SEB have provided the facility.
The UK Infrastructure Bank provided its guarantee product covering £240m ($303.2m) of commitments.
The facility will help the provider reach more than one million premises by 2027.
“By securing this debt funding, we’ve shown that despite high levels of volatility in the sector there remains an appetite among lenders to support fiber operators that can demonstrate a robust business model," said Gigaclear CEO Gareth Williams.
"Not only is it an endorsement of Gigaclear’s mission to take its full fiber broadband to underserved, rural communities across England but it is also a reflection of the great things being achieved by the team at Gigaclear."
Founded in 2010, Gigaclear specializes in delivering fiber broadband to underserved rural communities. Its footprint currently extends to more than half a million premises across 26 counties.
Gigaclear won two contracts last month worth £26.5 million ($33.5m) to connect around 10,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses in rural Oxfordshire under the UK government’s flagship £5 billion ($6.23bn) Project Gigabit program.
