Quickline Appoint New CFO to Support UK Rollout of Ultrafast Broadband

Alternative network provider Quickline, which is building a mix of Full Fibre (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) based broadband networks across parts of Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire in England, has appointed Craig Fairey as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to help grow the business alongside its new rollout plans.

Mr Fairey is said to bring significant experience and skills to the role, having qualified as a Chartered Accountant over 25 years ago and held senior financial positions across different industries, including the tech sector. He joins Quickline from retail services provider Sigma, where he was Group CFO for four years.

The move comes as the operator is busy investing in its workforce, which has almost tripled from 60 to more than 175 over the past year. The growth reflects the impact of a committed investment of £500m from Northleaf Capital Partners, which acquired the company in 2021.

The funding is fuelling their future ambition to cover 500,000 UK premises in rural and semi-rural areas with “ultrafast broadband” via a mix of FTTP and 5G based FWA (wireless) infrastructure “by 2025” (here). Over the past year alone they added 50,000 households in North and West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire to their network, albeit mostly via wireless solutions.

Craig Fairey said:

“I’m very excited to be joining Quickline and about the journey the company is on. The ambition and intent of the business is remarkable and the team that Sean has built around him is absolutely first class.

Quickline has already delivered great results in rolling out fast, reliable broadband to rural communities, but there are so many more opportunities ahead.

In my first few weeks I’ve been struck by the passion and energy of the people in the business. Everyone is pulling in the same direction to leave an amazing legacy that will have such a positive impact on the lives of many thousands of rural households and businesses.

Having grown up in North Yorkshire, and now living in East Yorkshire, it’s fantastic for me to be playing my part in improving the lives of people in Yorkshire and across the North of England.”

Residential customers covered by their wireless network pay from £24 per month for 50Mbps (15Mbps upload) with a free router and installation, which rises to £36 for their top 200Mbps (30Mbps upload) tier on a 24-month term. By comparison, those able to get FTTP are charged from £29 per month for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) and that goes up to £49 for their top 900Mbps (450Mbps upload) tier.