London, 8 April 2022: Soho Square Capital LLP (“Soho Square”), an investment firm focused on serving the financing needs of established and growing UK and European SMEs, has invested significant follow-on capital in Netomnia, a provider of full fibre broadband infrastructure across the UK. Soho Square first backed the business in 2020.
Netomnia secured £295 million in new funding led by DigitalBridge Investment Management (“DigitalBridge”), the investment management platform of DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG), with significant follow-on commitments from existing shareholders Soho Square and Advencap Limited.
The new funding will support Netomnia’s rapid growth, as it develops full-fibre infrastructure, utilising innovative technology and agile deployment, to bring ultrafast broadband to under-served towns and cities across the UK. Founded in 2019, Netomnia is investing in rapidly building a high-quality multi-gigabit network for UK homes and businesses.
Founded by CEO Jeremy Chelot, who has a strong track record in the full fibre network sector, Netomnia is committed to delivering a multi-gigabit broadband network across the UK. Netomnia has achieved more than 130,000 premises passed since rollout commenced in 2020. Working in partnership with major UK construction companies, Netomnia has a lean and scalable operating model that enables it to achieve swift deployment.
Jeremy Chelot, CEO at Netomnia, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with DigitalBridge and benefit from their support and industry expertise as we work towards our target of one million premises passed in the next two years. We are scaling rapidly and aim to play an active role in unleashing the UK’s digital potential by delivering the benefits that come with multi-gigabit fibre broadband.”
Walid Fakhry, Co-Managing Partner at Soho Square Capital, commented:
“This is an exciting time for Netomnia as it scales up to meet the increasing demand for full fibre broadband across the UK. Having originally partnered with the company and its highly capable management team just two years ago, this is a fantastic opportunity for Soho Square to commit further capital as the company secures such significant investment from DigitalBridge to drive forward its growth.”
Manjari Govada, Principal at DigitalBridge, said:
“We have known Jeremy for several years and are excited to partner with him in scaling the Group into a premier fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) provider in the UK. We have been highly impressed with the growth of the business and the best-in-class team he has assembled.”
Soho Square’s deal team was led by Walid Fakhry (Co-Managing Partner) and Joe Tebbutt (Principal) and Soho Square and the existing shareholders were advised by Stephenson Harwood. Financial advice was provided by independent investment bank Greenhill.
For further information
For further information, please contact:
Walid Fakhry Joe Tebbutt
+44 (0)20 4551 8999 +44 (0)20 4551 8999
If you would like to discuss future investment opportunities, please contact:
James Smallridge
+44 (0)79714 75582
Media:
Kepler Communications
Charlotte Balbirnie Caroline Villiers
+44 (0)7989 528421 +44 (0)7808 585184
CBalbirnie@keplercomms.com CVilliers@keplercomms.com
About Soho Square Capital
Soho Square Capital is an investment firm focused on providing flexible capital solutions, typically in the form of senior or preferred capital with minority equity stakes, to established and growing UK and European SMEs. Headquartered in London, the firm is led by a highly experienced team that has been investing together for over 15 years, through many economic cycles and have the expertise and flexibility to invest up to £45 million in any given transaction, across the capital structure, from senior debt to equity. The team works closely with business owners and management teams to structure innovative, bespoke financing solutions and offer enhanced portfolio company support.
About Netomnia
Netomnia is developing full-fibre infrastructure, utilising innovative technology and agile deployment, to bring ultrafast broadband to under-served towns and cities across the UK. Founded in 2019, Netomnia is investing in rapidly building a high-quality multi-gigabit network for UK homes and businesses. Netomnia makes wholesale connectivity available to service providers, including YouFibre, which delivers the UK’s fastest broadband packages of up to 10 Gbps to customers.