InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica (TEF) have announced an agreement to acquire Substantial Group. Founded in 2019, Substantial Group, owned by investors Advencap, DigitalBridge and Soho Square Capital, is the United Kingdom’s second-largest alternative fiber provider, expected to have more than 3.4 million fiber premises and more than 500,000 customers by completion. The acquisition will be made by the parties’ joint venture company, nexfibre, and will unlock £3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) of investment in the U.K. market.
The combination of nexfibre, Substantial Group’s fibre network (Netomnia) and the customers on 2.1 million Virgin Media O2 premises (which will be upgraded to fiber by nexfibre), will create a scaled, financially secure challenger to BT Openreach, with a full fiber footprint of around 8 million premises by the end of 2027. When combined with the growing fiber footprint of Virgin Media O2, co-owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, the two networ
