Broadband ISP Glide Acquires Full Fibre Provider Velocity1

Business and residential ISP Glide Group, which is currently working to extend their UK full fibre broadband network (leased lines and FTTP etc.), has today announced that they’ve acquired 100% of the shares of London-focused full fibre and smart city provider Velocity1 Ltd from Quintain.

Velocity1 currently operates fibre optic broadband networks across Wembley Park for large residential buildings (MDUs) and businesses (they’ve done this since 2008), including almost 5,000 homes and over 500,000 sq ft of retail space. As part of today’s acquisition, Quintain and Glide have agreed on a strategic partnership, under which Glide will now operate Quintain’s wholly-owned fibre optic network throughout Wembley Park.

Glide will thus now become the sole supplier of residential broadband services to Quintain Living, which manages Quintain’s build-to-rent portfolio across the estate. The deal also means that Glide will become responsible for the design, build and management of the fibre optic networks across Quintain’s next major development phase of Wembley Park. Named North East Lands.

The new 12-acre North East Lands site will deliver over 2,000 new homes with 769 to be built in phase one. The first developments at North East Lands comprise two buildings with blocks ranging from 10 to 27 storeys, centred around communal gardens, and a public park and each block includes a roof terrace. North East Lands will provide almost a quarter of the 8,500 homes within Quintain’s Wembley Park overall masterplan.

Tim Pilcher, CEO of Glide, said:

“Wembley Park is quickly becoming one of the most exciting districts in London. This acquisition will allow Glide to provide the multi-faceted campus with future-proofed, ultra-fast broadband connectivity for years to come, helping Wembley Park continue to thrive as it continues to grow and develop more asset–rich infrastructure to meet the ever-demanding requirements of its residents and commercial tenants.”

James Saunders, CEO of Quintain, said:

“Velocity1 has, over the last 15 years, enabled Quintain to create a fibre-optic infrastructure across Wembley Park that has been instrumental in the transformation of the estate. As the fibre ISP market has matured, it is now time to partner with an industry-leading provider. Our partnership with Glide will allow us to continue growing this critical part of our infrastructure while also benefiting from their industry-leading technical and customer service expertise. Moving forward we want to focus on delivering outstanding customer experiences and are delighted to have found a strategic partner who can help us scale and innovate the services we offer.”

At present, residential customers typically pay from £30 per month for a 60Mbps package, which rises to £40 for 100Mbps and £50 for 500Mbps. It will be interesting to see whether or not this changes now that Glide has taken the reins. Glide was advised on the transaction by Addleshaw Goddard for legal and BDO for tax and accounting.