The boss of BT’s network arm would back selling a minority stake in the business – if the investor supports rolling out fibre broadband across the UK.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley has admitted that his division was a ‘big drag’ on spending, and his comments will fuel speculation that BT could strike a deal next year, after group boss Philip Jansen said he was ‘open-minded’ about one last month.

Selley said: ‘What I need from BT is backing on my big fibre deployment, because that’s the future of this business and to date, they have backed me and they have committed to big-scale investments. But I am a big drag on their investments.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley has admitted that his division was a ¿big drag¿ on spending

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley has admitted that his division was a ¿big drag¿ on spending

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley has admitted that his division was a ‘big drag’ on spending

‘I spend more than half of the capital expenditure in the BT Group, when I am just one business out of four. 

‘What I have been assured of by [Jansen] and the chairman [Jan du Plessis], is that they see Openreach as a core business of BT… and they would want to retain majority control.

‘What I care about is: Does the owner back our transformation programme to switch Britain over to fibre? 

‘That is my strategy. Whether I liked a minority owner would depend on whether they back that strategy.’

He disagreed with MPs who doubt most homes will have fibre broadband by 2025. He said: ‘We could do it by March 2026. I would encourage the Government not to go soft on their ambition.’

Reports this year have suggested BT was looking to raise cash from Openreach, which has been valued at £20billion on its own, and provides network services to firms like Sky and Talktalk. 

It is operated at arm’s length to ensure it treats BT’s competitors fairly.

Jansen has said a decision to sell a minority stake would most likely rest on the regulatory decisions in the new year.

#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .footerText a:hover{text-decoration: underline;} #fiveDealsWidget .footerSmall{font-size:10px; padding-top:10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

You May Also Like

MARKET REPORT: Direct Line shares dive as suitor abandons bid

Shares in Direct Line tumbled in the first session since its Belgian…

Tony Hetherington: HSBC’s bizarre checks are hurting our angling club

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners,…

Seven home improvements which may be a turn-off to buyers

THE Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems. Mel Hunter will…

ALEX BRUMMER: Europe bids to slam the brakes on inflation

The European Central Bank is not known for bold moves. The decision…