3 July 2023

Wildanet secures £50m from Gresham House to expand regional broadband rollout

Gresham House has provided £50m to help Wildanet accelerate full-fibre connectivity across Cornwall and Devon.

£50.0M

Wildanet is a regional alternative broadband provider operating in Cornwall and Devon. The firm deploys full-fibre infrastructure to connect rural and digitally excluded communities.

Cornwall-based alternative broadband provider Wildanet has secured £50m in fresh funding from specialist alternative asset manager Gresham House. The capital will be deployed to accelerate the rollout of high-speed gigabit-capable internet infrastructure across Cornwall and Devon, targeting hard-to-reach residential and commercial properties.

This latest injection follows an initial £50m commitment made by Gresham House in December 2020. Wildanet also recently secured two public contracts totalling £36m under the UK Government Project Gigabit initiative to connect more than 19,250 premises in Cornwall.

The expanded rollout is scheduled over the next three years and supports workforce growth, with the company aiming to recruit an additional 200 employees.

From the founder

"Gresham House are a fantastic partner to Wildanet and fully share our vision for sustainable infrastructure development in the South West. We are grateful for their continued support and for the significant difference this investment will make to our own rollout plans and to lives and opportunities in communities where we are bringing modern, high-speed digital connectivity residents and businesses both need and deserve."

Helen Wylde

CEO at Wildanet

Investor perspective

"Wildanet is having a transformative impact on communities across Cornwall, creating a truly gigabit-capable network that is both vastly superior to and materially more energy efficient than copper-based broadband. This is critical infrastructure that will enable the South West to benefit from digital transformation and Gresham House are delighted to be working with the market leading team at Wildanet to achieve this."

Simon Adcock

Head of Portfolio & Co-Fund Manager, Sustainable Infrastructure, Gresham House