UK Regulator Says Nexfibre-Substantial Group's GBP2 Billion Deal Could Hurt Competition in Fixed Broadband Services

06:08 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Britain's competition regulator warned that Nexfibre's proposed acquisition of Substantial Group for 2 billion pounds sterling could substantially reduce competition in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services. The UK Competition and Markets Authority said Friday it provisionally found competition concerns with the deal after referring the transaction for an in-depth inquiry in July. The findings are subject to a final decision. In February, Telefónica (TEF.MC), Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners, through their Nexfibre joint venture, agreed to acquire Substantial Group, described as "the UK's second largest alternative fiber provider," with the parties touting a potential 3.5 billion pounds in investments in the UK market as a result of the deal. Substantial Group is the holding company for fiber broadband companies Netomnia and Brsk. When the agreement was announced, Substantial Group was covering 3 million premises with a customer base of 450,000. These figures are expected to rise to more than 3.4 million premises and 500,000 customers by the planned third-quarter deal closing. As part of the transaction, Nexfibre planned to sell the retail business of Substantial Group, including the YouFibre and Brsk brands, to Vmed O2 UK, d/b/a Virgin Media O2, a UK-based telecommunications and mass media company jointly owned by Telefónica and Liberty Global. The CMA has asked Nexfibre and Substantial Group to submit a remedy proposal within 14 calendar days, while the parties and other stakeholders can submit their feedback on the provisional findings by Oct. 23. The competition regulator then expects to issue its final decision on Dec. 15. Telefónica's shares gained over 1% during morning trading in Madrid.