Grain, the Carlisle-based Full Fibre broadband provider, and Equitix backed company, has secured a £212 million debt facility with funds and/or accounts managed, advised or controlled by HPS Investment Partners, LLC or its subsidiaries. This significant funding milestone marks the next phase in Grain’s ambitious growth strategy, supported by existing investors Equitix and Albion Capital.

In addition to the debt facility, Equitix is investing a further £13 million in equity – its fifth capital injection into Grain – underscoring its continued confidence in the company’s highly efficient and scalable model.

The new funding will enable Grain to expand its independent full fibre network to approximately 600,000 premises, as it progresses toward its goal of reaching over one million homes – one of the largest organic builds in the UK broadband sector.

Grain’s network, which avoids the use of telegraph poles, already serves communities across the North East, North West, and the Midlands. The company has achieved industry-leading efficiency in both deployment and operations, recently turning EBITDA positive. Benchmarking data shows Grain’s build and connection costs are 47% lower than the next most efficient provider, and its operating cost per customer is 60% below the market average.

Grain was advised by CMS and Lazard, while Equitix received legal counsel from Fladgate.

Grain is one of eight Full Fibre networks supported by Equitix across the UK, Sweden, and Oman. Together, these networks have passed more than 2 million homes and connected over 500,000 customers. With over £2 billion invested in its Network Utilities portfolio – which spans fibre, electricity, gas, heat, and water – Equitix continues to demonstrate its long-term commitment to building resilient, future-ready infrastructure. Across all its networks, Equitix’s now serves a total of 60 million customers worldwide.