Airband Accounts Give Context to Recent UK FTTP Build Slowdown and Job Cuts

Broadband ISP Airband, which previously aimed to cover 400,000 UK premises in rural areas via a mix of fixed wireless access (FWA) and full fibre (FTTP) networks by 2026, has finally published their company accounts – over 2 months late – and given context to the recent redundancies and build pauses.

The operator has spent the past few years expanding their broadband network across 15 UK counties, including parts of Wales, the South West, the Midlands, Cheshire and Oxfordshire. As part of that they’ve also scooped up various state aid (Building Digital UK) funded deployment contracts from the government, such as around Shropshire, Devon and Somerset.

Unfortunately, the company, like so many other alternative network operators in the market right now, are not immune to the wider pressures (e.g. rising built costs, competition from rivals and the difficulties of securing fresh investment in a high interest rate environment etc.) and recently completed a “period of restructuring”.

As we reported in January 2024 (here), the outcome of Airband’s restructuring seemed set to cause some redundancies and a build slowdown, with the operator being expected to focus on growing customer take-up instead. But at the time of that article, this process was still ongoing, and the operator thus declined to provide any further details.

Airband’s Accounts

The company has now published their latest accounts to the end of December 2022, which also helps to underline the financial challenges they’re facing in the most recent 2023/24 period. Firstly, it’s worth noting that Airband had 485 employees in 2022 (up from 338 in 2021) and they invested £71m into their network during that same period (up by 109% on 2021), although we expect both of those figures to fall post-restructuring.

Summary of Key Airband Figures to Dec 2022

➤ Revenues reached £3.439m (up 28% vs 2021), but the cost of sales was £(4.046m)

➤ Operating loss of £(20.972m), which is double the £(10.515m) recorded in 2021

➤ Total assets of £151.14m (up from £76.34m)

➤ Total liabilities of £(116.41m) (increased from £(52.39m))

➤ Shareholder funds of £34,730m (up from £23.954m)

The accounts note how “the Directors are confident that the restructuring and operating expenditure can be managed within the funds available to 31st July 2024 and that further strategic funding will be secured to allow the Group and Company to continue in operation for at least until March 2025. On this basis, the Directors have concluded that it is reasonable to assume the Group and Company are able to adequately fund its operations for the foreseeable future.”

However, at the time of these results it was also noted that the necessary requirement for “further strategic funding … has not been identified and secured” (P17), while “additional funding from its major shareholder, which may be needed in the period to 31st July 2024 has not been guaranteed.”

In short, the accounts state that there is still a “material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” The complexity of this situation is given further depth in the report’s summary of post balance sheet events, below.

Suffice to say that much will depend upon Airband’s ability to secure additional investment by August. The statement above and talk of “incurring contractual penalties” might also be something that impacts some of their state aid supported roll-outs, although Airband hasn’t been specific. We have asked the operator to comment.