Abrdn has agreed to make a major equity investment in Wessex Internet, a full-fiber operator in southwest England, on behalf of its core Infrastructure strategy.
Wessex Internet has built a significant fiber footprint across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. The business has a network footprint covering tens of thousands of homes across these counties and has secured significant contracts underpinning a business plan that targets an additional 150,000 premises by 2027, through a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized capital investment.
In August, Wessex Internet was awarded the first subsidy contract under its new £5 billion ($5.4 billion) Project Gigabit broadband scheme, which will reach 7,100 premises in rural parts of North Dorset.
This is the first investment funded by abrdn’s third core infrastructure fund, ASCI III, which is seeking to raise €1 billion ($960 million) to invest in the pan-European infrastructure mid-market. The investmen