Partner Portal

ITS Hosts Inaugural Build Partner Award Ceremony

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On the 9th of December 2025, we were proud to host an afternoon of celebration for our build partners at the inaugural Build Partner Awards. The event was sponsored by Mayflex, a trusted supplier of end-to-end FTTx solutions, delivering high-performance fibre infrastructure for modern connectivity demands. Bringing together people from across the business, the awards marked a significant milestone in our collaboration with our build partners, recognising their innovation and delivery commitment to drive the roll out of our full fibre infrastructure across the UK.  

Recognising top UK fibre build partners 

ITS build partners are a core component of our network, which powers a digital Britain. They help lay the groundwork for a faster, smarter and more sustainable business landscape built for the future.  

In recognition of their contributions, we brought our incredible build partners together to highlight how they influence key customer touchpoints, and how we can work together in 2026 to drive positive progress. 

Our goal for the afternoon was simple: recognise our build partners for the incredible work they do every day. In 2025, their impact in the field was remarkable. Some of the key achievements include:  

  • Build partner health and safety audits grew by 46%, averaging 97.6% across the board 
  • 50% reduction in accidents, and a 29% decrease in near misses 
  • Over 80% quality ratings for all build partners, with several now over 90% in 2025 
     

These are a mere snapshot of their achievements this year, and the statistics speak to their dedication to professionalism and quality.   

Congratulations to our winners  

We celebrated our amazing build partners by hosting awards in five categories.

Newcomer of the Year 

This award celebrated a partner who joined the ITS roster in recent months but had a significant impact. Demonstrating specialist expertise, teamwork and agility, we were honoured to award this title to E&D Telecom.

Best Safety Standards 

At ITS, safety is central to everything we do. Our core focus is making sure our people come to work safe, and leave fulfilled, happy and secure – and this extends to our contractors. This award celebrated commitment to safe, responsible work and to maintaining outstanding safety scores and process management. We were delighted to award Best Safety Standards to DH Telecom.  

Best Quality Standards 

Quality and right first time are paramount to the customer experience. Our completion rates and high standards on installation are under constant analysis to ensure we do everything to help our channel partners win. For embodying these values, we were proud to award Best Quality Standards to Select Electrics.

Build Partner of the Year 

Last year, we rolled out exciting networks across Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Glasgow, Swansea, Crawley and more. But we can’t do that without depending on excellent communication, collaboration and adaptability from our contractors. For this reason, The Build Partner of the Year for 2025 was awarded to TTS.  

Project Build of the Year 

When launching new networks, our build partners face aggressive timelines and high expectations, as we strive for excellence in all we do. For consistently delivering exceptional results under pressure, completing critical builds and offering significant value, we were thrilled to announce EDR as The ITS Project Build of the Year for their exceptional work on the Crawley network build.  

How ITS drives connectivity innovation 

Throughout the event, we held one value at the heart of it: the ITS build partner is core to the customer experience. Our contractors are central to:  

  • Smooth handovers  
  • Clear communication  
  • Punctuality  
  • Brand ambassadorship 
  • Pride in their patch  

 

Our commitment to partners is to ensure we do all we can to prioritise their experience. That’s why we also shared the exciting networks, product, and systems changes build partners can expect to see in 2026 and beyond to not only optimise their daily experience working with ITS, but all in aid of meeting and exceeding the partner service expectation.  

Striving for more in 2026 

The 2025 Build Partner Awards were just one small way of setting the foundation for tomorrow’s progress. Our goals for 2026 are simple: continue striving for more progress in our safety, quality, compliance and collaboration, as we ramp up our network roll-out.  ITS build partners are an extension of our people, so quality in the field is key to ensuring service continues to improve in the New Year. This inaugural awards ceremony demonstrates the ITS approach to relationships from our partners to our people – founded in collaboration, recognition, and transparency.

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Dave Ferry
Chief Sales Officer

As Chief Sales Officer, Dave leads the sales strategy at ITS, driving growth and strengthening customer relationships. Overseeing commercial success across Partner Markets, Public Sector and Major Business, Dave uses his 20 years of telecoms experience to build high-performing teams and deliver innovative solutions that meet market demands.

Previously, Dave held senior roles at Virgin Media Business, leading successful teams in various market segments.

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Kevin McNulty
Strategy Director

Kevin leads the Strategy team in ITS, comprising the core functions of network Investment (including M&A), regulation, public affairs, product management and marketing. With over 4 years’ experience within the leadership team of ITS, Kevin has played a pivotal role in shaping the business direction as it has grown to be a leading provider of B2B wholesale connectivity.

Prior to ITS, Kevin has a long background in the industry, having held senior positions in BT, Virgin Media, KCOM and NTT – as well as a period spent in consultancy.

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Claire Davies
People & Culture Director

Claire is the People and Culture Director for ITS, responsible for ensuring we provide a great place to work, with amazing people who are happy, productive, and engaged.

A CIPD qualified HR professional with previous industry experience at Amey, as well as more recent experience in a number of small businesses, Claire is passionate about putting people first in order to grow the business.

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Mike Goodwin
Chief Technology Officer

Mike is responsible for all technical, operations, customer service and security within ITS. Using his degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and MBA from Manchester Business School, Mike focuses on how ITS can introduce and support complex solutions designed to create customer-focused teams that ensure exceptional experience. On top of his extensive career history spanning TalkTalk, Hyperoptic and Fibre Nation, Mike is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IET.

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Charlie Versi
Chief Operating Officer

Charlie leads ITS’s end-to-end operational delivery, with a focus on service excellence and delivering an outstanding experience for both partners and their business customers. His appointment will help build on the company’s strong foundations – driving transformation, quality, and innovation and using them as key enablers of continued growth.

Daren Baythorpe
Chief Executive Officer

Daren is a dynamic leader who drives the strategy, growth and direction of ITS. Daren has significant utility / telecoms sector experience and has held several board-level leadership and advisory positions for a number of organisations including Severn Trent Water and BT. He served on the Board of Openreach, where he held executive responsibilities as Director of the Customer Service Division, Director for Field Engineering then latterly serving as Managing Director of the Business Division.

Daren also regularly advises and collaborates with government and other regulatory / telecoms bodies on sector-related issues. His in-depth knowledge and understanding of the requirements of operators and high capacity data users, through his vast experience across the industry, mean that ITS is thriving under his leadership

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Kevin Gaskell
Chairman

Kevin leads our board and is responsible for giving strategic advice and counsel, as well as attracting and driving investment. Kevin is recognised as one of the most successful leaders of his generation, having led iconic brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini and BMW. A highly experienced serial entrepreneur and private equity chairman, he has led multi-billion-pound global organisations; and also founded startups such as Epyx Limited, building it up to become the market leader for automotive e-commerce solutions.

Kevin has received multiple accolades; highlights include making the ‘UK’s top 40 leaders under 40’ list, chairing the ‘best UK private equity investment of the year’, and being a founder of award-winning start-up companies across the globe.

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