Satellite orbits multi-million pound deal for broadband company

£21m-turnover communications company Satellite Solutions Worldwide is set to acquire Driffield broadband specialist Quickline.

Quickline Communications, the fixed wireless broadband company based in Humberside, is being acquired in a £5m deal by the London-based business, who will spend a further £2m of investment to grow the business.

For the year ended 31 March 2017, Quickline generated revenue of £2.3m and EBITDA of £300,000.

Satellite is funding the deal through a share placing in which it hopes to raise £8.1m for this and other bolt-on acquisitions.

It said that the deal was prompted by a decision to gain a fixed wireless presence in the UK. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the year ending 30 November 2018.

Quickline has been working with government-backed Broadband Delivery UK, which aims to support the roll-out of high speed broadband in areas of the UK which are not eligible for mainstream fibre or network connections.

In 2016, Quickline was the recipient of a £2.0m BDUK grant to support the roll-out of fixed wireless broadband in North Lincolnshire.

Andrew Walwyn, CEO of SSW, commented: “Whilst we are already the leading domestic satellite broadband provider in the UK, the acquisition of Quickline further diversifies our revenue base and broadens our last-mile broadband technology offering.

“Quickline has an established, well-regarded fixed wireless broadband offering which complements our existing satellite technology platform; the combination of solutions will lead to significant growth opportunities in the UK market.

“The growing appetite for internet connectivity appears unstoppable and we are seeing continued demand for our last-mile broadband solutions, reflected by the growth in our customer numbers. As governments around the world continue to address the ‘digital divide’, a combination of government voucher schemes and grants will underpin our growth expectations.”

Steven Jagger, MD of Quickline, commented: “We very much look forward to further growing our operations within SSW. They provide a national platform and distribution base for Quickline to take advantage of opportunities within the UK fixed wireless market, allowing us to provide a ‘one stop shop’ solution for customers.

“We have exciting plans to grow our customer base and we are taking part in a number of contract tenders which will hopefully augment this growth. The framework and experience provided by SSW will be vital as we continue our roll out of wireless technology to help consumers stuck in the ‘digital divide’.”

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