AN ALTERNATIVE fund manager has hailed its largest investment in fibre infrastructure to date with the £164 million backing of a Scottish broadband company.
Gresham House described the investment in Duns-based Borderlink, which trades as fibre provider GoFibre, as substantial, and said that one of its directors will join the board of the broadband company.
Borderlink said it secured the further investment from specialist asset management company Gresham House to accelerate its roll-out of gigabit-capable fibre broadband in Scotland and the north of England.
The firm previously received funding of £10.5m in April from London-listed 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.
It said that the new investment will allow Borderlink to accelerate its operations as it moves to connect local people and businesses to a full fibre network that will enable up to 500,000 local homes to access gigabit-capable speeds over the next three years.
Borderlink said it plans to recruit a further 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 at Borderlink 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.
READ MORE: Glasgow in UK's 'largest full fibre roll-out'
The backing allows the firm to “go faster and further” as it rolls out its broadband solutions north and south of the Border, said Alex Cacciamani, Borderlink chief executive.
“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,” he said. “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, the managing director of sustainable infrastructure at Gresham House and fund manager of BSIF, hailed the link-up.
“Alex and the GoFibre team have impressed us with their ambition, teamwork and ability to deliver on their plans,” said Mr Bachmann. “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.”
Gresham House is a specialist alternative asset management group, which says it is dedicated to sustainable investments in a range of strategies, with expertise across forestry, housing, infrastructure, renewable energy and battery storage, public and private equity.
The London-quoted firm manages £4 billion of assets on behalf of institutions, family offices, charities and endowments, and private individuals “responsibly within a culture of empowerment that encourages individual flair and entrepreneurial thinking”.
The Scottish National Investment Bank last year announced its investment in the sustainability fund of Gresham House.
Borderlink is headquartered in Duns in the Scottish Borders with depots and offices in Edinburgh, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Kelso, Dundee, Aberdeen and Carlisle.
Under the GoFibre brand, Borderlink offers its customers fibre broadband speeds of between 120Mbps and 10Gbps.
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