Acuity advises Truespeed on its merger with Freedom Fibre

Truespeed Communications, advised by Acuity, and Freedom Fibre have signed an agreement to combine their businesses, creating a scaled, capital-efficient full-fibre platform. The combined entity will play a leading role in the ongoing consolidation of the UK altnet sector.

This merger brings together two highly complementary, effectively unlevered, businesses with a combined footprint of 412,000 premises ready for service, and 70,000 customers, concentrated across the North-West, West Midlands, South-West and East of England.

With complementary regional networks now coming together, the merged group is well-positioned to scale efficiently and accelerate its route to profitability. Founded in 2014, Truespeed, which has received investment from Aviva Investors, is a regional full-fibre provider with high penetration rates and excellent customer satisfaction. Freedom Fibre, backed by InfraBridge and Equitix, was originally established as a wholesale-only FTTP platform, focused on delivering open-access fibre infrastructure. The combination of Truespeed’s proven retail brand, customer growth engine and regional density with Freedom Fibre’s wholesale platform and growing retail capability creates a scalable combined model with clear operational and commercial benefits.

Long-term investors Aviva Investors, InfraBridge, and Equitix, each with significant experience in the UK FTTP sector, are backing the transaction. Together with the management team, they aim to boost customer numbers, enhance service quality, and achieve sustainable, capital-efficient growth.

Ian Shervell, Senior Director, Infrastructure Equity, at Aviva Investors, said:

“Acuity provided excellent support and leadership as we explored options to merge Truespeed with complementary businesses across the UK. Their deep knowledge of Truespeed along with other potential merger candidates as well as their investors allowed us to identify Freedom Fibre as an attractive counterparty, before negotiating and executing the deal efficiently.”

Marcus Allchurch, Managing Partner at Acuity, said:

“Having advised on Truespeed’s original fundraise with Aviva back in 2017, we are absolutely thrilled to have supported the business through this transaction. This merger, in addition to our roles advising Zzoomm and ClearFibre through M&A, numerous FTTP fundraises and broader connectivity deals such as the sale of M247 underline Acuity’s position as the go-to M&A advisor for connectivity businesses.”

The merger is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in Q2 2026.