East Sussex-based broadband company goes into administration but firm says it is 'business as usual'

Lightning Fibre, which was founded in Eastbourne in 2018, went into administration on February 19.

However, the company said it has changed ownership and the firm continues to operate as normal.

Customers are unaffected by the change and have been notified in writing, the company added.

Over the last few years, the company has been carrying out its full fibre network deployment across the county in Eastbourne, Hastings and St Leonards, Hailsham, Polegate, Bexhill and Heathfield.

Last year, the company said it had built a future-proofed Full Fibre broadband network in East Sussex, creating almost 200 jobs, and improved the connectivity of thousands of homes and businesses following a multi-million-pound investment secured in 2020.

Joint administrators from FRP Advisory were appointed on February 19 after the firm went into administration.

A spokesperson for Lightning Fibre said: “East Sussex-based 'AltNet' (full fibre broadband network operator and ISP) Lightning Fibre has changed ownership and the existing senior management team remains in place.

“The Lightning Fibre business and assets of Lightning Fibre Limited transferred to LF Holdco 2 Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresight Fibre Holdco Limited, on February 19, 2024. The transfer ensures that the Lightning Fibre business will continue to trade as normal. Customers are unaffected by this change and have been notified in writing.”

Amit Thakrar, director at Foresight Group, said: “Foresight is fully-committed to Lightning Fibre, and we have every confidence in the senior management team to further develop the company.”

Stefan Stanislawski, Lightning Fibre’s CEO, added: “In the short-term we have changed our strategy to leverage our strong brand and focus more on growing customer take-up, rather than on expanding the network coverage. We also have exciting plans to extend the reach of our successful ISP beyond our own network this year.

The company added that Lightning Fibre will continue its community-focused approach, which has enabled it to build a ‘compelling and popular local brand, and played a part in the firm scooping the highly-coveted ‘Best Consumer ISP (with fewer than 50,000 customers) Award’ at the ISPA Awards in November 2023’.