Customers and jobs ‘top priority’ as company closes in on deals with Opus Broadband and investment group Octopus
Mark SweneyFri 25 Sep 2026 05.58 EDTFirst published on Fri 25 Sep 2026 04.07 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleTalkTalk is scrambling to secure its future amid the threat of administration, closing in on deals to sell its consumer and broadband arms as it seeks to save 900 jobs.
The telecoms company said on Friday it was in the final stages of sealing deals to sell its consumer business as well as its wholesale operation, PXC.
“The company expects to conclude both transactions imminently,” TalkTalk said.
The UK’s fourth-largest broadband company was founded in 2003 by Charles Dunstone as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse. It has struggled in the highly competitive telecoms market, with its customer numbers shrinking from 4 million in 2019 to about 1.5 million.
The debt-laden business is close to sealing a £100m deal to sell its consumer operation to Opus Broadband, and to sell its wholesale operation PXC to Octopus Investments for an undisclosed sum.
A spokesperson for Opus said: “[Our] top priority is to ensure that every customer stays connected and that all TalkTalk employees’ roles are protected.” Octopus Investments declined to comment.
“I’d be surprised if there is real disruption for TalkTalk customers if the deal with Opus goes ahead,” said Karen Egan, a telecoms analyst at the research and consultancy firm Enders Analysis, told the BBC. “They would take over the running of the operations I would expect.
“They may look to move the customers to their own platform but I’m sure [the industry regulator] Ofcom would be focused on that being a very smooth transition, especially given that around 250,000 of TalkTalk’s customers are deemed to be vulnerable.”
If the cut-price deals go through TalkTalk’s owners, which include Dunstone, will have to write off about £1bn in debt.
PXC works with the Ministry of Defence although the sale process is unlikely to interrupt the services it provides.
It is understood that work with the MoD is through a third-party reseller, not PXC directly, and that regulations mean there is always at least one other telecoms company to prevent disruption.
It has been reported that Dunstone and TalkTalk’s biggest shareholders, including the private credit company Ares Management, could inject more money to take control of the consumer business if a deal cannot be reached. Shareholders have provided £350m in emergency funding over the past two years.
Dunstone established TalkTalk in 2003 as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse in an attempt to shake up the UK broadband market. The business was later demerged, and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010.
Initially a success story, at its peak in 2015 TalkTalk’s market value hit almost £4.8bn. But the company struggled at the budget end of the market, unable to invest at scale to compete with rivals such as Sky and BT. As customer numbers dwindled, Dunstone engineered a £1.1bn deal with Toscafund Asset Management in 2021 to take the company private, which saddled the business with debt.
He has been seeking a buyer for TalkTalk for a number of years, with Virgin Media O2 and BT reportedly considering deals, but rivals and investors have been wary of the company’s embattled position at the budget end of the broadband market.
Dunstone remains chair of TalkTalk but the business is effectively under control of its lenders, led by Ares.
Explore more on these topics- TalkTalk
- Telecommunications industry
- Charles Dunstone
- Technology sector
- Broadband (Technology)
- Broadband (Money)
- Carphone Warehouse
- news
