Siro secures €125m debt investment to help fund network expansion

Broadband provider Siro has secured a €125 million debt investment from Macquarie Asset Management to help finance the expansion of its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network.

The ESB-Vodafone joint venture earlier this month announced a major €620 million upgrade to the network that it said would nearly double its reach to 770,000 homes and businesses across more than 150 towns and cities by 2026.

The European Investment Bank is providing €170 million towards the project.

The term loan provided by Macquarie’s institutional clients will help Siro to refinance existing debt and fund the remainder of the expansion programme.

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"Our fibre broadband network is currently available to 410,000 homes and businesses across Ireland. As part of this next phase, we will increase our network reach by over 70 per cent. This will enable many more Irish homes and businesses to access high-quality, high-speed broadband to support how they now live and work," said John Keaney, chief executive of Siro.

The wholesale broadband provider, whose network runs across ESB’s infrastructure, reported a 53 per cent rise in revenue to €23 million last year.

However, because of the high cost involved of rolling out fibre-optic cables, the company made an after-tax loss of €28 million for the 12 months to the end of December 2020.

Siro has spent more than €450 million on its network to date. It operates in 64 regional towns and is used by 19 retailers.