Octopus (OITS) to split UK fibre broadband assets from other investments UPDATE

The Octopus Inheritance Tax Service (OITS), which is a discretionary investment service managed by Octopus Investments, has revealed that they’re going to split out their fibre broadband assets (i.e. those held by Fern Trading – Vorboss and AllPoints Fibre Network) from other investments. The move comes shortly after Octopus backed away from a deal to acquire PXC from TalkTalk.

The CEO of Octopus Investments, Erin Platts, told the Telegraph (paywall) that she wanted to be “honest about what hasn’t worked … and put OITS on a stronger footing for the future“, which is a reference to their recent poor performance and the questions that rose after OITS froze withdrawals while talks over a possible c.£200m deal with broadband group TalkTalk were ongoing.

At this point it’s already well known that Fern Trading’s fibre business has been struggling (APFN has burnt a lot of money on their own fibre assets), albeit not unlike plenty of other alternative network operators we could mention – due in part to wider market strains (competition, high interest rates and rising build costs).

Under the change, a new fund will now house Fern’s full fibre network assets, which account for a little over a third of its value. The other fund will contain the rest of Fern’s assets. Two classes of shares will be created for this.

Octopus is also said to have faced growing scrutiny about transparency after it was reported by the same paper that savers had been bankrolling failed hospitals and care homes.

Erin Platts said:

“We know the last few years haven’t delivered the performance our investors expected and our investors have had enough uncertainty from the recent trading pause. Today, we’re drawing a line under that and giving them a clear way forward. We’re reopening the Octopus Inheritance Tax Service and splitting the shares of part of the fibre business, which has been the biggest drag on performance, from the wider Fern portfolio.

It’s a significant change but when something isn’t delivering for investors, you change it. Our responsibility is to be honest about what hasn’t worked, act on it, and put OITS on a stronger footing for the future.”

In theory, this will leave the non-fibre part of Fern Trading’s portfolio in a better place, while allowing their fibre business the flexibility to adopt a different strategy. But one aspect of this, which hasn’t been picked up on by the newspaper, is that not all of Fern’s fibre assets are in quite such a bad state, relatively speaking.

For example, Fern’s London-based business fibre network, under Vorboss, is healthier (if still far.. from ideal). But this is debatable and we suspect nobody would be surprised if Octopus eventually looked to find a more direct exit strategy for their entire fibre division (sale / consolidation or administration etc.).

UPDATE 5th Oct 2026 @ 8:54am

Octopus Investments has been in contact to clarify how the split will work.

The split is:

Fern A will comprise the more established sectors of Fern’s portfolio, including Fern’s real estate businesses, lending, renewable energy assets and Fern’s Central London-focussed fibre business Vorboss. This results in a highly diversified portfolio backed by institutional-grade, cash-generative assets.

Fern B will be made up of Fern Fibre Trading Limited (FFTL), Fern’s retail fibre business and NetCo, Fern’s fibre network assets. In addition, it will also hold sufficient cash reserves so that it can continue to operate and potentially pursue growth opportunities, including the current potential transaction.