UK ISP Glide Completes Debt Refinancing and Agrees New Capex Facility

Business, student and residential ISP Glide Group, which has been busy expanding their full fibre broadband network across more of the UK (leased lines and FTTP etc.), recently announced the successful completion of a refinancing of its existing debt arrangements. The deal also included a new capex (capital expenditure) facility to support growth.

The 5-year bank financing is said to have been “oversubscribed“, which suggests there was strong demand from the banking sector. Evercore acted as financial adviser to Glide on the agreement, while Addleshaw Goddard served as legal counsel, and PwC conducted the financial, technical and commercial due diligence for the refinancing. Latham & Watkins acted as legal counsel to the banks.

Glide’s most recent company accounts to the end of January 2024 (here) noted how their revenues had grown by 15% in the year to £27.9m, “with growth in all areas of the business” and gross profit grew to £17.3m (up from £15.4m). The provider also onboarded 12,000 new student beds this year, meaning they now serve a total of over 250,000 students with internet connectivity. Glide also added 7,000 new business units to their coverage and invested over £20.9m into their network (up from £19.6m in the previous year).

The provider added that their “Fibre Cities” programme now connects 250 MDU locations (large residential buildings) and have deployed an addition 150km of fibre assets, mostly via Openreach’s PIA product (existing cable ducts and poles) – now totalling 2,450km.

Tim Pilcher, CEO of Glide, said:

“This refinancing is a significant milestone for Glide as we position ourselves for future growth. The strong interest from the banking community, resulting in an oversubscribed facility, reflects their confidence in our strategy and growth plans. We appreciate the support of Evercore, Addleshaw Goddard, PwC, and our new and existing lenders, who have helped us secure terms that will enable us to continue delivering excellence for our customers.”