Is CityFibre profitable in 2026?

Yes on an adjusted EBITDA basis: CityFibre reported FY2025 (year ended 31 Dec 2025) revenue of £170m and adjusted EBITDA of £29m, up from £5m in FY2024, with a Q4 2025 annualised run-rate exceeding £200m revenue and £50m EBITDA.

Is CityFibre laying off staff?

Yes. CityFibre announced plans in January 2026 to cut roughly 450 roles (about a third of its ~1,400 staff, mostly engineers), then put a further ~200 roles at risk in July 2026, partly citing slower M&A progress after losing its Netomnia bid.

CityFibre is private, taken off London's AIM in 2018 via Connect Infrastructure Bidco at 81p/share. Current shareholders include Antin Infrastructure Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, Interogo Holding, Newlight Partners and PATRIZIA's European Infrastructure Fund II.

Could AI replace CityFibre's core business?

No. CityFibre's moat is physical fibre infrastructure, wayleaves and long-term wholesale ISP contracts (Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk), none of which AI substitutes for. CityFibre does use AI for field QA and network monitoring, but this is a cost-efficiency tool, not a core exposure.

Who is CityFibre's biggest competitor?

Openreach (BT), with 17-20m+ FTTP premises passed versus CityFibre's 4.6-4.7m, and Virgin Media O2/nexfibre, which announced a ~£2bn acquisition of rival altnet Netomnia in February 2026, a deal CityFibre had itself pursued and lost, and which is under CMA Phase 2 review as of July 2026.

Is it safe to take a job at CityFibre in 2026?

Risk is elevated: CityFibre cut ~450 roles in January 2026 and put ~200 more at risk in July 2026, against ~£3.7-4bn net debt as of mid-2026, with an ISP partner (Aquiss) publicly complaining in July 2026 that support quality had deteriorated post-cuts.

Telecom infrastructure · United Kingdom

CityFibre

cityfibre.com ↗

CityFibre builds and wholesales full-fibre broadband networks across UK cities.

Losing its protection

Assessed 25 July 2026 · Evidence as of 25 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 25 July 2026 · Checkable from 15 Dec 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: CMA Phase 2 ruling on VMO2/nexfibre's Netomnia acquisition

The call

CityFibre is growing revenue and customers fast, but it's doing so on nearly £4bn of debt while its two biggest rivals build in the same streets and just took its acquisition target.

CityFibre lays fiber cables to homes and businesses across the UK, earning money by renting access to internet providers. The company is not protected from bigger rivals like Virgin Media O2 and Openreach, which can build competing networks in the same towns and cities. CityFibre's real problem is its £3.7 to £4 billion debt load against modest profits, meaning it must add thousands of new customers every month just to stay afloat, but it just lost a key deal to buy a smaller competitor (Netomnia went to Virgin Media O2 instead), and has already cut staff twice in six months.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI doesn't reduce the need for physical fibre; more AI-driven internet use pushes demand for bandwidth, not away from it. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Virgin Media O2/nexfibre and Openreach (BT). Both already build competing fibre in CityFibre's cities, and VMO2/nexfibre just bought Netomnia, CityFibre's own top consolidation target. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. Long-term wholesale deals with ISPs like Vodafone, TalkTalk and Sky already run on CityFibre's network, plus 4.6m premises already passed.

What would change this call

CMA Phase 2 ruling on VMO2/Netomnia deal by 15 Dec 2026. Shows whether CityFibre stays #2 altnet or falls to #3 behind a merged VMO2/Netomnia.
Whether CityFibre closes any deal using its £800m accordion facility within 12 months. Shows if CityFibre can still consolidate the market or has lost that race.
Monthly net adds staying above 50k and no third redundancy round after July 2026's cuts. Shows if take-up growth and cost control can outpace its ~£3.7-4bn debt load.

Key numbers

FY2025 revenue £170m, up 27% y/y (2025-12-31)
848,000 customers connected, up from 518,000 (2025-12-31)
Net debt roughly £3.7-4bn (2026-06-30)

Named risks

High net debt (£3.7-4bn) against thin £170m revenue base, dependent on continued take-up ramp. Severity: high
Failed Netomnia bid weakens consolidator strategy funded by £800m accordion facility. Severity: high
Two redundancy rounds in six months (Jan and Jul 2026) signal possible ongoing cost pressure. Severity: medium
CMA could clear VMO2/Netomnia deal clean by 15 Dec 2026, cementing rival's scale advantage. Severity: medium
ISP partner (Aquiss) publicly reported degraded support quality following layoffs, July 2026. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Virgin Media O2 / nexfibre	gaining on	Acquired rival altnet Netomnia for ~£2bn, deal announced 2026-02-18, beating CityFibre's bid
Openreach (BT)	losing to	17-20m+ premises passed vs CityFibre's 4.6-4.7m as of end-2025
Community Fibre	contesting	FY2025 revenue £113m up 48% y/y, EBITDA £50m up 530% y/y, reported 2026-05-21
Hyperoptic	contesting	~1m premises, 340k customers, 34% penetration per KPMG, 2025-12-01

Questions people ask

Is CityFibre profitable in 2026?: Yes on an adjusted EBITDA basis: CityFibre reported FY2025 (year ended 31 Dec 2025) revenue of £170m and adjusted EBITDA of £29m, up from £5m in FY2024, with a Q4 2025 annualised run-rate exceeding £200m revenue and £50m EBITDA.
Is CityFibre laying off staff?: Yes. CityFibre announced plans in January 2026 to cut roughly 450 roles (about a third of its ~1,400 staff, mostly engineers), then put a further ~200 roles at risk in July 2026, partly citing slower M&A progress after losing its Netomnia bid.
Who owns CityFibre?: CityFibre is private, taken off London's AIM in 2018 via Connect Infrastructure Bidco at 81p/share. Current shareholders include Antin Infrastructure Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, Interogo Holding, Newlight Partners and PATRIZIA's European Infrastructure Fund II.
Could AI replace CityFibre's core business?: No. CityFibre's moat is physical fibre infrastructure, wayleaves and long-term wholesale ISP contracts (Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk), none of which AI substitutes for. CityFibre does use AI for field QA and network monitoring, but this is a cost-efficiency tool, not a core exposure.
Who is CityFibre's biggest competitor?: Openreach (BT), with 17-20m+ FTTP premises passed versus CityFibre's 4.6-4.7m, and Virgin Media O2/nexfibre, which announced a ~£2bn acquisition of rival altnet Netomnia in February 2026, a deal CityFibre had itself pursued and lost, and which is under CMA Phase 2 review as of July 2026.
Is it safe to take a job at CityFibre in 2026?: Risk is elevated: CityFibre cut ~450 roles in January 2026 and put ~200 more at risk in July 2026, against ~£3.7-4bn net debt as of mid-2026, with an ISP partner (Aquiss) publicly complaining in July 2026 that support quality had deteriorated post-cuts.

Timeline

2026-07-15CityFibre notifies ~200 more UK staff of possible redundancy
2026-07-09ISP partner Aquiss publicly complains of degraded CityFibre support post-layoffs
2026-07-02UK CMA fast-tracks Phase 2 review of VMO2/nexfibre's Netomnia acquisition
2026-02-18Virgin Media O2's nexfibre announces ~£2bn deal to acquire Netomnia, beating CityFibre's bid
2026-01-28CityFibre announces plans to cut ~450 roles, about a third of staff
2026-01-22CityFibre reports FY2025 revenue £170m and adjusted EBITDA £29m
2025-07-31CityFibre secures £2.3bn financing package and Sky partnership goes live
2025-03CityFibre acquires Connexin's full-fibre infrastructure in Hull/East Riding
2018CityFibre taken private via Connect Infrastructure Bidco at 81p/share
2011-01-11CityFibre founded by Greg Mesch

Revision history

25 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Netgear Intelsat Mavenir Systems