Private equity companies KKR and Warburg Pincus are exploring potential sales of their UK fibre broadband units. According to the Financial Times, Warburg has engaged investment bankers and reached out to possible buyers for its London-based ISP, Community Fibre, while KKR has contacted prospective acquirers for its broadband provider, Hyperoptic.
Community Fibre currently has approximately 450,000 customers, compared with Hyperoptic’s more than 400,000. According to the FT, both KKR and Warburg have explored the possibility of merging the two companies, although neither private equity firm is in any hurry to pursue a deal.
Last month Community Fibre set out plans to expand its fibre network to two million premises by 2028-29; it currently passes around 1.93 million. This week’s report comes at a challenging time for the UK fibre sector, where a number of alternative network providers (altnets) are competing for customers while funding costly network roll-outs.
The market has already begun to consolidate, with larger players such as BT’s Openreach and Virgin Media O2 dominating. The FT does not identify potential buyers, but says Virgin Media O2 is unlikely to be among them as it focuses on completing its purchase of Substantive Group’s Netomnia.
Other major altnets, including CityFibre, have also faced difficulties keeping pace with their build programmes, although CityFibre did secure a £2.3 billion ($3.08 billion) financing package last year. Separately, altnet G.Network emerged from administration in March after being bought by FitzWalter Capital.
More in Investment / M&A / Financing. 20 May 2026. Additional coverage in Telecoms & 5G.
19 mars 2026. 26 Jan 2026. 19 Jan 2026
