SSE disposes of 220 tower sites for £79m

August 7, 2015

Scottish and Southern Energy has sold its telecoms site assets from its telecoms business, SSE Telecommunications, for £79m, excluding working capital. The sites have been bought by The Wireless Infrastructure Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wireless Infrastructure Group Limited.

The disposal involves over 220 tower sites. The sites are used by mobile phone operators, the emergency services and local authorities to provide mobile communications and data services.

The disposal of the assets will allow Scottish and Southern Energy to concentrate on its core business of providing networking services to other telecoms providers, companies and public sector organisations.

The company is retaining its network of fibre optic assets across the UK and will continue to provide telecoms services to both commercial and public sector customers under the Neos Networks brand.

Neos Networks, the wholly-owned subsidiary of SSE Telecoms, has experienced excellent growth over the last three years. Extensions to its fibre optic network and continuous focus on customer service will enable the company to achieve additional growth in the future.

As part of the sale to The Wireless Infrastructure Company, the company has entered into a long term contract for the provision of site services to support its core business. WIG’s extensive experience in the tower sector was an important factor in determining the final purchaser. Key to the transaction was the ongoing, long-term relationship with SSE to supply services and develop new sites.

The acquisition of the telecom site assets is highly strategic for WIG and increases its UK tower portfolio to in excess of 1,000 sites. The transaction extends WIG’s geographic footprint and firmly establishes it as the leading independent tower company in the UK.

Scottish and Southern Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the UK. It is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity; energy trading; the storage, distribution and supply of gas; electrical and utility contracting; and telecoms.