All Simon Lowth articles
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Financial & PerformanceBT CEO snubs fibre M&A, doubling down on Openreach organic growth — despite accelerating line losses
Q2 FY25–26: Allison Kirkby showed little enthusiasm at thought of mopping up fibre altnets as part of much-anticipated consolidation, instead insisting Openreach is best focused on its own game, and set up to beat any incursion — notwithstanding line losses accelerating alarmingly…
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Network & InfraBT taps Starlink to ‘bridge’ fibre gaps in rural reaches
UK telco becomes the latest operator to tie with Starlink to improve rural connectivity offerings for customers. “Landmark” deal follows experimentation with the technology in recent years, with rivals having unveiled their own satellite connectivity plans…
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Strategy & ChangeIndian magnate joins BT board to give long-term investor Bharti a voice at the top
BT Group’s largest shareholder Bharti Enterprises firms up relationship to secure two boardroom seats.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: tracking BT’s rise
Q1 FY25–26 special: BT’s star continues to rise, with valuation now 50% higher than when CEO Allison Kirkby took over, despite a shaky start to the FY. Consumer and Business fall further back, but ol’ reliable Openreach and its trusty fibre machine is driving the Group forward…
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Financial & PerformanceQ1: BT backers rewarded as confidence remains high
Q1 FY25–26: Group share price ticks up 50% in a year, boosted by Q1 earnings, suggesting Allison Kirkby’s new manager bounce has been sustained. Whether this will continue may well depend on BT’s ability to reverse current trends, as downtrodden business and consumer units continue to fall, despite Openreach best efforts…
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Financial & PerformanceQ1 In depth: BT boss claims ‘solid start’ despite shaky numbers
Q1 FY25–26: CEO Allison Kirkby persistent in long term strategy, but first quarter results put things in perspective. BT Business the usual headache; BT Consumer finds positives despite the headlines; and Openreach cements its reputation as a resilient source of resilient good news…
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PeopleBT poaches VM O2 finance chief as Lowth’s exit confirmed
Patricia Cobian, CFO at Virgin Media O2, is to join rival BT next year, with current CFO Simon Lowth set to retire. BT CEO Allison Kirkby said Cobian brings “invaluable” experience that will help drive BT’s transformation and strategy…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: regulatory give and take
Latest from BT as the group benefits from spectrum licence fee savings, but warns of potential competitive damage if TAR changes go through as proposed; Simon Lowth reportedly on his way out; 5G SA rollout updates…
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PeopleBT CFO Simon Lowth readies for departure — report
Succession planning underway as reports indicate Lowth will leave within a year, closing out a decade-long tenure and teeing up yet another change to Allison Kirkby’s executive leadership team…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 Spend: ‘on and off’ contractors help keep cost-cutting on track
BT’s long-running cost-cutting campaign is in full swing, with headcount cuts driving the savings. Capex continues to rise despite earlier promises, but the (revised) peak is in sight…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 In-depth: another year of transition
Group CEO Allison Kirkby has called the past year one of ‘transition’, but insists a turnaround is imminent. ‘Revenue pressure’ (see, decline) reflects a challenging FY for all divisions, but strategic and structural change at the Group may have set it up for delivery next FY and beyond…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 Guidance: free cash flow ‘inflection point’ in touching distance
Group misses revised revenue targets, and expects another fall to come, but groundwork has been laid for elusive ‘predictable growth’ two years out…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25: no longer a newcomer, CEO Kirkby begins to make her mark
A year of mixed results, but CEO Allison Kirkby claims the strategic tweaks of her first 15 months are having an impact. A management team overhaul, a renewed domestic focus, and an apparent ability to capture investors’ imagination has set the Group on an upward trend, albeit with plenty of work to do to deliver on her vision…
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Financial & PerformanceOpenreach seeks another gear as altnets gain and CPs flop
FY24–25: BT CEO Allison Kirkby has tossed earlier promises of lower capex, instead fuelling an accelerated fibre build “now that we’ve got the engine humming” to bolster a defence against altnet incursions, and make up for CP shortcomings…
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OperationsBT electrifies fleet, charges on with EV infra transition
The BT/Openreach fleet inches towards zero emissions with a 3,500-vehicle order from Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Renault, backed by gov grants. Challenges remain, but Etc.’s charging pilot rolls on with a new focus…
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Network & InfraOpenreach chases ‘one network’ architecture with Nokia Altiplano deployment
Access provider confirms Altiplano onboarding, adding further Nokia presence to FTTP infra.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Weekly: earnings add to Kirkby’s optimism
Latest from BT as CEO Allison Kirkby uses drab half-year results to cast vision for the future; Business prepares for Global divestment; Openreach beats fibre expectations; BT riled as Vodafone–Three merger nears…
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Financial & PerformanceKirkby ‘convinced’ of BT strategic plan despite scale of challenge
Q2/H1 FY24-25: BT CEO Allison Kirkby now settled into role and aware of mountain to climb, but no less confident of the Group’s strategic direction.
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Financial & PerformanceIn-depth: change is coming at BT, ‘trust me’
Q2/H1 FY24-25: Group CEO Allison Kirkby calls on investors to ‘trust me’ in wait for promised turnaround as revenue falters in first half of the year.
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Financial & PerformanceSpend: BT past its peak, transformation agenda in full flow
Q2/H1 FY24-25: BT capex drops as Openreach fibre build keeps spend in check.