History of RunFibre
RunFibre began as a small rural full-fibre operator in 2020 and went on to build community FTTP networks across parts of South Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire before passing through several corporate owners.
RunFibre was incorporated in July 2020 and emerged as a small alternative network operator focused on rural communities that larger fibre builders had often overlooked. Its earliest builds centred on Hawkesbury Upton, Inglestone Common and nearby areas, often using the government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to make full-fibre projects viable.
How RunFibre started
RunFibre Ltd was incorporated on 28 July 2020. Companies House records an initial statement of capital of £75 and shows the company beginning life with Bristol-area directors and shareholders.
The broadband business that followed was built around a straightforward idea: take full fibre into smaller rural communities where existing broadband choices were limited. By 2020/21, RunFibre was deploying FTTP around Hawkesbury Upton, Inglestone Common and surrounding parts of South Gloucestershire.
RunFibre focused on smaller communities rather than trying to compete immediately in dense urban areas.
Eligible rural homes and businesses could use government-backed vouchers to help fund the cost of new gigabit-capable connections.
RunFibre’s own site was publishing information about the Gigabit Voucher Scheme by September 2021, and its Hawkesbury page describes the local network as live and still being expanded.
The rural rollout expands
RunFibre’s next phase was about extending that community-build model into more villages and rural clusters. Its published rollout areas included Easter Compton, Over Lane, Iron Acton, Falfield, Sopworth and Little Badminton, and Charfield West.
In May, RunFibre said work was ramping up in Easter Compton and Over after enough customers had signed up for the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme.
RunFibre announced that its gigabit-capable infrastructure had been lit and customer installations were under way.
The operator marked the first customer going live in Charfield West, another step in its South Gloucestershire rollout.
One of the earliest communities associated with RunFibre’s network.
Voucher-backed expansion with customer connections beginning in 2022.
First customer live in April 2023.
A turning point for the business
By late 2023, RunFibre’s corporate structure had started to change. Companies House records Fibreray Group Ltd becoming a person with significant control on 2 October 2023, alongside a director change.
The period was not entirely smooth. In July 2024, Companies House published a first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off before the action was discontinued the following day. The company remained active.
In August 2024, industry reporting said Fibreray Group had fully acquired RunFibre for an undisclosed amount. RunFibre then publicly announced the completed acquisition and integration in September.
At the time of the Fibreray announcement, RunFibre said it had passed more than 1,500 premises in South Gloucestershire and was offering full-fibre speeds of up to 1Gbps. Fibreray said the focus would remain on smaller rural and semi-rural communities.
RunFibre changes hands again
The later history of RunFibre is dominated by a series of ownership changes. Those changes matter here as company milestones, but the detail of the current shareholding belongs on our separate ownership page.
Companies House records Fibreray Group ceasing to be RunFibre’s person with significant control and Fibre Nova Ltd becoming the new controlling company.
Fibre Nova’s control ended and Bentry Infrastructure Group Ltd became RunFibre’s active person with significant control.
Jaswinder Singh Gill was appointed as a RunFibre director, with Lee Thomas Murphy’s appointment ending several days later.
For the latest controlling shareholder and the exact Companies House ownership threshold, see Who Owns RunFibre?. This page keeps the ownership changes in chronological context rather than repeating that search intent.
What became of RunFibre?
RunFibre remains an active UK company and its website still presents the business as a full-fibre provider focused on connecting underserved communities. Its historic network footprint remains closely associated with South Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire.
The last widely reported public network figure remains the 1,500+ premises passed figure from 2024. No newer total has been publicly confirmed in the sources checked for this article.
By 2026, the business sits within a broader infrastructure group rather than operating with the same ownership structure it had during its early community-build years. That makes RunFibre’s story a useful example of how the UK altnet market evolved from small local fibre builds into a more consolidated industry.
From rural start-up to part of a wider infrastructure group
RunFibre began in 2020, built voucher-supported FTTP networks across smaller South Gloucestershire communities, expanded through 2022 and 2023, and had passed more than 1,500 premises by 2024. Fibreray then acquired the business, Fibre Nova took control in 2025, and Bentry Infrastructure Group became the controlling company in 2026.
RunFibre history FAQs
When was RunFibre founded?
RunFibre Ltd was incorporated on 28 July 2020. Its early full-fibre rollout began around 2020 and 2021 in rural South Gloucestershire.
Where did RunFibre first build its network?
RunFibre’s early FTTP rollout focused on Hawkesbury Upton, Inglestone Common and surrounding rural communities in South Gloucestershire, with support from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
How large was RunFibre’s network by 2024?
By the Fibreray acquisition announcement in 2024, RunFibre said its network had passed more than 1,500 premises in South Gloucestershire.
Sources checked
Companies House records and RunFibre’s own archived announcements provide the core chronology. Industry reporting is used to add context around the later acquisitions and reported network size.
- Companies House — RunFibre overview — incorporation date, active status and company details.
- Companies House — RunFibre filing history — 2020 incorporation, director changes, Fibreray, Fibre Nova and Bentry control filings, and the 2024 strike-off notice and discontinuation.
- RunFibre — News archive — early Gigabit Voucher content, Charfield West milestone and 2024 Fibreray announcement.
- RunFibre — Hawkesbury Upton and Inglestone Common — early community network and voucher information.
- RunFibre — Easter Compton — 2022 600-property expansion announcement and first live customer milestone.
- RunFibre — Charfield West — first customer live in April 2023.
- RunFibre, September 2024 — Fibreray acquisition announcement, 1,500+ premises passed and rural expansion strategy.
- ISPreview, August 2024 — reports the Fibreray acquisition and RunFibre’s network position.
- ISPreview, June 2025 — reports Fibre Nova taking control.
- ISPreview, September 2026 — reports Bentry Infrastructure Group taking control and summarises RunFibre’s earlier rollout.