International law firm CMS has advised Foresight Group LLP (Foresight), a leading infrastructure and private equity investment manager, on a long-term financing agreement with Lightning Fibre, a full fibre network provider.
Foresight’s investment will accelerate the development of Lightning Fibre’s Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) network in East Sussex, UK. Starting with Eastbourne and Hastings, Lightning Fibre intend to build, install and operate new full fibre infrastructure across the region, delivering hyper fast broadband of up to 1Gbps to over 100,000 homes and businesses.
The investment is expected to result in enhanced essential local infrastructure and the creation of new local jobs, and is in line with Foresight’s ESG and sustainable goals. Studies have shown that full fibre optic networks support lower greenhouse gas emissions and promote wider access to employment and education.
Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon, CMS Corporate partner, commented: “We are pleased to have successfully advised Foresight on this important investment. With the demand for homeworking having skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, reliable and superfast broadband has never been more important. Fibre networks are becoming increasingly popular as consumer demand for superior digital connectivity continues to grow across the UK. We have worked on some of the biggest fibre network deals in recent years and have long been recognised as market leading advisers in the sector. As a full-service firm, our teams are able to work seamlessly to support our clients on complex deals of this nature.”
Helen Downie, Senior Investment Manager, Foresight commented: “We have been delighted with the pragmatic advice that we have received from the CMS team. They were integral to the success of the deal and clearly demonstrated their deep understanding of the sector. We look forward to working with Lightning Fibre and playing an active role in the development of this important digital infrastructure project.”
The CMS team was led by Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon and supported by Caroline Walker, Rashmi Varkey and Adrian Vuylsteke (all Corporate); Anne Chitan and Paula Hryckowiak (Finance); and Chris Watson (Technology & Media).
Over the last 12 months, CMS has advised on a number of large fibre network deals including CityFibre’s £200 million acquisition of FibreNation from TalkTalk Group, increasing CityFibre’s rollout target from five million to eight million premises and establishing CityFibre as the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, as well as advising on Hyperoptic’s sale to KKR, fuelling Hyperoptic’s ambition to reach five million homes and businesses by 2024.
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