They are:  Darren Purkis (CFO) Kelly Barlow, (Strategy and Portfolio). Clare Corkish (HR) Andrea Dona (Networks), Nick Gliddon (Business). Stephen Lerner (Regulatory, Government Affairs & Company Secretary), Nicki Lyons (Corporate Affairs & Sustainability), Stephen Reidy (IT), Jon Shaw,(Consumer Operations), Rob Winterschladen ( Consumer), Andy Yorston (Legal, Security, Compliance & Risk).

Apart from Purkis, Reidy and Lerne, all appointments are from within Vodafone

Three CEO Robert Finnegan has announced  he is taking on a new role as Deputy Chairman of CK Hutchison Telecoms Group in Q2 of 2025. and will be Executive Chairman of Three Ireland and a Director of Vodafone/Three UK.

He said on social medai” I have been extremely lucky to work alongside such talented and hard-working people over the course of my time at Three, and I am very grateful to each and every person for making my time as CEO of both companies so enjoyable and successful”.

The appointments followed a robust selection process and were approved by the merged company’s Governance Board, with representatives of both Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison as shareholders of the future merged company.

The  appointees will take up their new roles once the CMA process is fully complete and the new company is created, with the date of completion yet to be announced. Until then, all appointees will continue in their current roles at either Vodafone UK or Three UK, with both companies and teams continuing to operate separately until the merger is finalised.

The £15 billion deal, which will create the country’s largest mobile network operator with approximately 29 million customers. The merger is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, with Vodafone owning 51 per cent of the combined entity and CK Hutchison Holdings’ Three holding the remaining 49 per cent.

The CMA’s approval is contingent upon Vodafone and Three fulfilling specific legally binding commitments designed to protect consumers and maintain market competition. These commitments include:

This is an improvement from the £112 million shortfall in early 2023. However revenue climbed nine per cent to £1.335 billion, up from £1.227 billion in the same period last year. The increase was driven by a six per cent rise in net customer revenue and a 10 per cent boost in handset sales, bolstered by growth in key customer segments including the MVNMO SMARTY, B2B, and 5G Home Broadband.

Operating expenses rose by five per cent to £548 million, due to to network expansion and inflation. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation) increased 31 per cent increase to £213 million, up from £163 million last year.

Three UK continues to face financial difficulties, reporting an Earnings Before Interest and Taxes of £30 million, though this is better than £76 million loss recorded in the same period last year.

The active customer base grew by three per cent, adding 352,000 new customers to reach a total of 10.9 million. Contract customers increased by five cent to 9.2 million, driven by gains in the B2B, 5G Home Broadband, and SMARTY segments, which offset declines in core business areas.

More than 900 sites were upgraded and 3,000 miles of fibre were replaced. Another 311 new sites were added under the UK’s Shared Rural Network program, with 269 of these sites now live.

Data usage per customer was up 24 per cent increase, averaging 30.5GB per month. Three UK expanded its 5G network to 4,900 sites across 656 towns and cities, achieving 62% population coverage. The company also launched network services in London Underground stations, bringing connectivity to key stations including Paddington and Canary Wharf.

CEO Robert Finnegan, highlighted the ongoing financial challenges due to rising operational costs and sustained negative cashflows since 2020.

“UK mobile networks rank 22nd out of 25 in Europe for 5G speeds and availability. The market structure prevents us from investing sustainably to address this issue. Our merger with Vodafone will unlock £11 billion for digital infrastructure, creating a world-class 5G network and driving economic growth in the UK”.

The network today revealed its Q3 results which showed total revenue of £1.8bn, an increase of two per cent over the same period last year. Three now has 10.7 million active customers, an increase of four per cent in the last year driven by growth in the SME segment, 5G Home and its virtual network SMARTY.

network has been cashflow negative 

Finnegan said that the network has been cashflow negative despite the growth in customer base and margin

“This is an unsustainable situation. I believe that merging with Vodafone is vital to give us the required scale to invest grow and compete to create a best-in-class network for the UK”

Operating expenses rose over last year, due to inflation, increased energy expenses, additional service fees related to tower asset disposals and higher maintenance costs as the network expanded, expand our network. Reported capital expenditures decreased, with a focus on meeting regulatory requirements.

Three produced an impressive set of half-year results showing revenue up four per cent to £1.23bn and net customer service revenue up eight per cent to £816m.

Other positive KPI’s were profit margin up nine per cent to £808m and seven per cent growth in active customer base from B2B, the SMARTY MVNO .and 5G Home Broadband, The SMARTY MVNO base grew by 36 per cent over the same period last year and 5G Home base increased by 174 per cent. The prepaid customer base was up eight per cent to 1.8 million.

Three says its network carries 29 per cent of the UK’s mobile data traffic

Three says its network carries 29 per cent of the UK’s mobile data traffic with average data usage per customer per month of 24.4GB, up 17 per cent over the same period in 2022.5G is now live across more than 4,400 sites in over 610 towns and cities, with 61 per cent outdoor coverage.

Three CEO Robert Finnegan said Three’s EBITDA continues to be below its capital expenditure, but this is “unsustainable going forward”, hence the importance of the planned merger with Vodafone

“We have successfully grown the business in the first half of the financial year and I’m proud that we have added to the customer base and delivered an increase in margin. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues for their hard work and ongoing commitment to the business.

“While the ongoing rollout of 5G is a success, we have been clear that we are now at an inflection point. As strong connectivity continues to be critical to how we live and work, we’re planning for the future. Our EBITDA continues to be below our capital expenditure, which is unsustainable going forward”.

Three UK CEO, Robert Finnegan, and Vodafone UK CEO, Ahmed Essam (main pic) have put more flesh on the bone of the historic merger.

Both confirmed there will be no change to each operator’s pricing strategy and that a multi-brand strategy will continue with Vodafone and Three continuing under their own names .

No change to each operator’s pricing strategy and a multi-brand strategy will continue

Economies of scale will enable the UK’s new third network to bring 5G coverage to more than 99 per cent of the population by 2034 and similar geographic coverage by 2027.

They claim that the UK businesses’ digital transformation will get a boost with improvements to production efficiency from full 5G access while energy consumption will be reduced by enabling business to install more energy efficient 5Ge smart technology to reduce their emissions?

“The merger creates a third network operator with scale and creates more effective competition to the market leaders to become an even more effective challenger on home broadband, accelerating the availability of fixed wireless access to complement the UK’s fibre footprint” said Essam.

Both of the businesses will compete as usual on a stand-alone basis until the merger is complete. So customers should not expect any changes to their plans and prices, They have pledged continuation of support on social tariffs to ensure there are o price rises on these tariffs. In the contract-free market there will be no price rises.

Finnegan said he was confident the regulatory bodies would not stop the merger.

“Ofcom identified that investment is very important in the industry. We’re both investing more than we are generating and that is not sustainable. I think Ofcom and the CMA recognise that and that this is an opportunity to correct what is a dysfunctional market. This is a way of creating a really strong third player that has scale and is wiling to invest £11 billion which is way more than any of the other operators. And that’s got to be good for consumers, The devil is in the detail, We will be engaging with the CMA in due course and listen to what their concerns are and move forward.”

this is an opportunity to correct what is a dysfunctional market.

Added Essam added: “If you reflect on where the market was five years ago and where we are today clearly it is a very different market. What materially changed is the MVNO market which is competitive. MVNO’s enjoy a market share of more than 16.5 per ent. It is very different from the position five years back. This changes the competitive landscape and makes our case very strong and which will bring our transaction over the claiming weeks to the CMA”.

The Three China connection is not seen as an obstacle for security concerns as it did with Huawei.

“We work with the security bodies and they have no concerns about our operations. This will be Hutchison taking a 49 per cent stake. So we don’t see an issue here”, said Finnegan.

Essam emphasised that both networks are already heavily regulated in the UK and adhere to strict compliance on customer data.

“We both abide by customer privacy regulations, Clearly the deal will be subject to national security approvals. We are on a good position to take this case to the security agencies and bodies”

Three’s active customer base increased by six per cent by almost 565,000 10.3 million. Contract customers grew five per cent to 8.59m primarily driven by B2B connections and the SMARTY MVNO.

But monthly average customer churn increased to 1.45 per cent from 1.1 per cent a year ago due to “due to challenging economic conditions” as customers looked for the best deals.

Three UK chief executive Robert Finnegan commented:

“We have continued to see growth this quarter with a strong year-on-year performance reflected in a six per cent increase in our active customer base, five per cent in revenue and seven per cent in margin.

“We also delivered our new IT systems, which will transform our customer offering and give customers the flexibility to choose their plan. “However, our returns remain below the cost of capital. Connectivity is crucial to how we live and work. For the industry to continue investing in the UK’s digital infrastructure, market structural change is needed.”

Three UK has released its Q3 2022 financial results which shows a total revenue growth of seven per cent to reach £656 million- up from £614 million in Q3 2021.

This was driven by its active customer base, which saw an increase of almost 700,000 or seven per cent to 10.3m compared to 9.6m year-on-year.

Contract customers also grew by five per cent to 8.3 million mainly driven by its B2B and SMARTY services.

Its Capex increased by 28pc YoY from £191m to £244 in this quarter due to the phasing of programmes as 5G rollout and enhancement of 4G networks continued.

Robert Finnegan, Chief Executive of Three UK, said: “Momentum across Three UK has continued in Q3, demonstrated by the strong performance that we have achieved across our financial metrics. It is clear our strategy to improve our network is delivering, as more individuals and businesses are choosing Three UK as their preferred network.

“However, our returns are below our cost of capital and EBITDA remains below capex. Therefore, for Three to continue investing in the UK’s digital infrastructure, structural change is needed to the industry.”

Three UK’s customer base has increased six per cent year-on-year to 8.2m contract subscribers and allegedly outperforming the rest of the market in the half-year results.

The B2B customer base increased by 134 pc year-on-year, which Three say reflects its ongoing investment into the customer proposition.

Three UK’s CFO Darren Purkis said: “B2B has been a big focus for us as two years ago we didn’t have a B2B team.

“We built a small base very quickly and last year we doubled that, and we’re trying to double it this year which we are on track to do.”

Wholesale margin grew 25 pc year-on-year, but revenue was flat and remained at £1.18bn compared to the half year 2021.

The provider was voted as the UK’s fastest 5G network by Ookla for the third consecutive year, and Three have reported that its 5G home broadband customer base has more than tripled since H1 2021 and 5G went live on its SMARTY network.

Purkis added: “We knew we had an opportunity with 5G and we’re starting to see the benefits of rolling that out fast and will continue this as we have market leading 5G spectrum.”

“Our propositions are strong, we’ve got good price points, we’re offering a good amount of data, we’ve got certainty in our contracts and I think we are competitive pricing wise.

“We want to improve on everything as we always want to be better, so if we can continue to improve the network and customer experience, everything will grow from that.”

Overall perfomance 

Speaking about the half year results, Three UK CEO Robert Finnegan said: “Our performance in the first half of 2022 is clear evidence of how our strategy to invest in our network and technology is delivering meaningful growth across our business divisions. 

“We now cover 56% of the population with the UK’s Fastest 5G Network offering our customers a fantastic experience.

“As a result, we added almost half a million contract customers year-on-year, adding almost as many contract customers as our competitors combined in H1. 

“Beyond network investment, we have also made significant progress in the development of our customer propositions and continued to evolve our B2B offering – with this customer base increasing over 130% in the period – and we believe there is a lot more to come from Three Business.” 

Three UK welcomed Rt Hon Alok Sharma, MP for Reading West, to officially open the central office in Reading’s Green Park.

The 117,000 square foot building has been used by Three employees over the past few months and offers accessible parking, open spaces and efficient transport links.

CEO Robert Finnegan showed Mr Sharma around the new building and discussed Three’s investment in Reading, which includes a ‘green’ office to align with the company’s efforts to reach net zero by 2040, as well as Three’s commitment to the development of its employees- including the 3,000 online learning modules taken over the past year.

Finnegan said: “We are really excited about this next chapter for our business, and the relocation of our central office to a building that was built with sustainability in mind.”

Alok Sharma MP added: “It was great to officially open the new Three headquarters in Reading and get a tour of the premises. I am delighted that Three is committed to becoming net zero by 2040. It is vitally important that all businesses step up and look to reduce their carbon footprints on the route to a net zero future.”

Three UK has published its results for the first quarter of 2022, revealing total revenue flat year-on-year.

Total revenue reached £582m in Q1 2022 vs £581m in Q1 2021, meanwhile total margin increased by one per cent to £365m, compared to £359m YoY.

Three UK has seen a strong growth in contract base YoY, with a rise of 5pc and significant growth in SMARTY, Home Broadband and Business.

Due to strong retention initiatives in Q1 2022, contract churn is at 1.1pc.

Three UK chief executive Robert Finnegan said: “These results are a very encouraging start to the year. 

“We’re continuing to make strong progress in all areas of our business, with SMARTY, Home Broadband and Business all going from strength to strength.

“Our network improvements are supporting this growth, and we now cover more than a third of the UK’s population and have the fastest 5G network as rated by Ookla. 

“Our continued investment is enabling our customer experience improvements.”