CityFibre to sell Lit Fibre ISP business to co-founders

Just under six months after buying Lit Fibre in a bid to compete more effectively with the likes of Openreach and Virgin Media O2 in the UK’s gigabit broadband sector, CityFibre is now selling the altnet’s consumer internet service provider (ISP) division to its co-founders, Tom Williams and Ben Bresler.

Established in 2021, Lit Fibre describes itself as a vertically integrated altnet, comprising network builder and ISP arms. When acquired, it had a footprint of more than 200,000 passed homes, with a further 100,000 premises in planned infrastructure roll-outs across towns in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Worcestershire, Essex and Suffolk, serving a subscriber base of more than 9,000 retail customers. It is currently on track to deliver up to 100,000 further premises by early 2025.

Its full-fibre internet services, built exclusively using existing poles and ducts, are currently available in Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Redditch, Melksham, Harpenden, Sutton Coldfield, Chippenham, Cirencester, Evesham, Clacton-on-Sea, Bishops Stortford and Sudbury, with installation underway in St Albans, Chelmsford, Welwyn Garden City, Stratford-upon-Avon and Potters Bar.

At the time of the acquisition, CityFibre regarded Lit Fibre as having a “significant and complementary” network with a compatible 10Gbps XGS-PON network architecture. Lit Fibre is now fully onboarded to CityFibre’s national infrastructure platform, enabling it to offer symmetrical speeds of up to 2.5Gbps anywhere over the nationwide, full-fibre network.

CityFibre said the sale of Lit Fibre’s consumer ISP arm aligns with its commitment to a wholesale-only model and demonstrates its ability to rapidly integrate and commercialise acquired footprint to drive network growth.

“Our strategy has always been to be the wholesale provider of choice, building a nationwide, full-fibre network that enables all of our partners to access market-leading products, pricing and service, and gives consumers a greater choice of full-fibre ISPs,” said CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch.

“We are really pleased to see Lit Fibre continue with its co-founders, who are passionate about the business, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Lit Fibre across our network. As the nation’s third digital infrastructure platform, we continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities alongside accelerating CityFibre’s build to reach at least eight million premises across the UK.”

Lit Fibre’s co-founders, Williams and Bresler, added: “Lit Fibre has built an enviable reputation for providing excellent service and support, and we are delighted that we will be able to continue delivering that for our customers into the future, along with our partners at CityFibre.

“The landscape for internet services is changing, where the in-home experience is becoming more important. We believe consumers should expect more from their internet provider and Lit Fibre has an exciting roadmap of product improvements, including improved Wi-Fi coverage and enhanced security and protection for all connected devices to meet these higher expectations.”