Scottish property developer picks Hyperoptic full-fibre broadband

Luxury property developer Cala Homes has agreed a partnership with full-fibre – or fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) – broadband network builder Hyperoptic to supply gigabit consumer services to new-build developments in the Glasgow area.

The Edinburgh-based developer is targeting 17 new sites, including at Strathaven, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, Bearsden, Cumbernauld and Larbert – around 1,800 homes in total.

Hyperoptic is already active in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with more than 15,000 homes and businesses in Scotland’s largest cities already able to access a full-fibre service.

“We pride ourselves on being renowned as a premium housebuilder. This reputation is built upon our commitment to give our customers the best living experience possible,” said Cala Homes (West) sales and marketing director, Liana Canavan.

“This partnership addresses and exceeds the digital needs of our future residents. Being able to immediately get online, via the fastest broadband connection in the UK, is just phenomenal. This information will be incredibly well received by our future customers and will positively impact their move-in experience,” she added.

Hyperoptic said its high-end gigabit service – it also offers slower ultrafast products for less money – offered users 22 times faster speeds than the Scottish average.

Hyperoptic national manager Sharon Maybury said: “This partnership with Cala Homes enables us to expedite our Scottish expansion via installing our services at the build stage. Hyperoptic is committed to lead the charge to Gigabit Scotland.

“We announced our intention to expand our full fibre network to Scotland in 2015. Since then, we have been working steadily to expand our footprint, with the aim of connecting hundreds of thousands of Scottish residents in the coming years.”

To accomplish this, alongside its roll-out across the rest of the UK, the supplier recently completed a £250m fundraising round, supported by TMT investment bank LionTree Advisors.

This was one of the largest ever private investments in full-fibre broadband, reflecting growing interest in supporting the burgeoning UK industry among venture capitalists – rival CityFibre was recently bought by private equity.

Hyperoptic hopes to use the investment to bolster further roll-out across both private new-build developments and public housing stock.

The first Cala Homes development to be completed will be at Mansionhouse Road in south Glasgow, where a total of 101 apartments are being built.