Energis set for telco purchases

NEWS Energis has secured £850m of extra funding, paving the way to make acquisitions within the telco market. The new funding replaces a bank facility of £600m and eases concerns that Energis would not be fully funded through to profitability. On top of savings of around £20m made through lay-offs the money may prove to be a catalyst for consolidation in the telco market. David Wickham, CEO of Energis, told the Financial Times that he is not about to tour Europe with his "shopping trolley" but should a bargain come along, the funding will enable Energis to "pick it up". Half-year results for Energis show revenues of up 33 per cent on the comparable six months of 2000 at £487.9m. Pre-tax losses more than doubled to £96.7m, but this did not deter investors. Shares rose 3p to 85p.