BT Group struck a deal to sell its Republic of Ireland wholesale and enterprise business to Speed Fibre Group for €22 million, the latest move by the operator to cut its presence in markets outside of the UK.  

The agreement is for BT Communications Ireland (BTCIL), which comprises infrastructure in the country, more than 400 customers and associated teams.

BT noted the deal did not include BTCIL’s customer base of multinational and large Irish organisations, its emergency call answering service, related employees and Irish data centre business. The latter is in the process of being sold to Equinix.   

As part of its latest deal BT and Speed Fibre Group inked a long-term supply agreement.

In its statement the UK-based operator explained it would “retain a strong presence in the Irish market to deliver connectivity, cloud and security services to multinationals and large organisations”.

The move marks the latest in BT’s strategy to scale down its international operations in favour of a focus on its home market.

BT Business CEO Bas Burger, who is on the cusp of switching roles at the company to focus on exploring options for its international operations, said the move was “another key milestone” in focusing its global business on “providing secure multi-cloud connectivity to large organisations”.

Buyer Speed Fibre Group provides communications infrastructure in Ireland, with the buy positioned as broadening its reach in the wholesale and B2B connectivity markets.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close later this year.