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Broadband ISP B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North), which is a community built and supported network that has so far deployed their 10Gbps full fibre (FTTP) lines to cover 30,000 rural premises in England, has announced that they’ve secured new finance from Triodos Bank UK to help expand their network into the North East of England.
The provider, which is a registered Community Benefit Society (i.e. they can’t be bought by a commercial operator and profits go back into the community) and home to over 15,000 customers (target to reach over 20,000 in the next 5 years), has already expanded their full fibre network to cover various remote rural parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Yorkshire, Northumberland and County Durham – often with the direct help of local volunteers (building and shares).
The venerable alternative network is currently working to try and expand the reach of their network outside the North West and deeper into the North East of England, specifically focusing on areas around the Northumberland and County Durham border (e.g. Hexhamshire, West, Humshaugh, Kielder Forest, Kirkwhelpington, Simonburn, Slaley & Healey, Tarset & Falstone, Wall & Sandhow, Warden, Weardale and Woodburn).
However, such an expansion will require extra investment, which is where the new agreement with Triodos Bank UK should come in handy. In 2019, the bank’s corporate finance team structured and raised a £3.3m bond for B4RN, which helped the organisation scale its network and connect thousands of rural homes and businesses. This was often used to underpin their applications to the government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Dinkar Suri, Senior Manager at Triodos Bank UK, said:
“B4RN exemplifies the kind of high-impact, community-led organisation we are proud to support. Its work not only bridges the digital divide but also strengthens rural economies and social cohesion. This new facility reflects our confidence in their model and our shared commitment to inclusive, sustainable development that helps people thrive.”
Tom Rigg, CEO of B4RN, said:
“Triodos has been a trusted partner since our 2019 bond raise, and the bank’s continued support is instrumental in helping us reach more communities. With this new funding, we can accelerate our rollout in the North East and ensure that even the most remote areas have access to world-class digital infrastructure.”
Unfortunately, the announcement doesn’t include any details of the new finance facility, which makes it a bit hard to judge the likely impact. The organisation’s latest annual accounts, which run to the end of March 2025, showed that they had a total of 80 employees, turnover of £4.8m (up 11%) and assets worth £33.67m.
The operator also generated Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of £2.08m (2024: £1.76m) and received £1.8m in Government grants. Last year they invested £5.29m into building their network and its associated technology (2024: £5.71m).
The financial year to which this report relates also saw the launch of their partnership with Nokia as suppliers for the deployment of XGS-PON (10-Gigabit Symmetric Passive Optical Network) technology on their networks, with the first project going online in January 2025.