Circet Acquires UK Broadband ISP Engineering Firm Qube GB

Telecommunications focused civil engineering firm Circet has announced the acquisition of Qube GB, which describes itself as an “in-home telecom maintenance specialist” that provides engineering services to UK broadband ISPs likes BT, TalkTalk, Sky Broadband and are also expanding their services for alternative full fibre networks.

Qube was originally founded in 2007 by Raymond Kerr and Darren Bunker to provide specialist engineering services to UK ISPs and large telcos, which at the time marked quite a shift as up until then most ISPs (except Virgin Media) had tended to be reliant upon Openreach for the physical engineering side of things.

The market today is of course very different from the one in 2007, but in-home engineering services are still very much in demand and Qube is already working with alternative networks (AltNets) like Freedom Fibre and F&W Networks etc. The company currently employs around 700 people across the UK. The new deal will thus expand the range of “last-mile” style services that Circet can offer providers, both inside and outside the home.

Donagh Kelly, Deputy CEO of Circet, said:

“The combination of Qube and Circet creates a powerhouse in terms of residential and business connections for the telecoms sector across the UK. Not only is our geographical presence enhanced, the service offering from the combined businesses creates end-to-end solutions for clients in the truest sense, from the exchange to the living room. The team at Qube have been very impressive to date and we look forward to joining forces and achieving great things together.”

Raymond Kerr and Darren Bunker, Co-founders at Qube, said:

“We are proud of this agreement which allows Qube to join Circet, an international company with a leading position in the most relevant European countries and with an ambitious growth plan outside Europe. Most importantly, this combination will allow the team we have built at Qube to continue to grow the business and further develop as part of a larger organisation.”

Acuity acted as financial advisor to Qube, with Osbourne Clarke providing legal advice. Circet were advised by Eight Advisory and Shearman & Sterling.