Main Market move: why Cordiant Digital’s planned migration matters
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure plans to migrate its ordinary shares from the Specialist Fund Segment to the Closed-ended Investment Funds category of the FCA’s Official List on the LSE’s Main Market. Management says this should enhance market profile and liquidity, support eligibility for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series (which includes the FTSE 250), and improve accessibility for retail investors.
The shift needs shareholder approval at a General Meeting expected in April 2026 and is subject to FCA approval and eligibility criteria. If delivered, I would expect tighter spreads, deeper pools of capital and, potentially, index buying. That is usually supportive for valuations, though nothing is guaranteed.
Q3 trading update: headline numbers investors should know
The update covers the nine months to 31 December 2025 and shows steady expansion, helped by contract wins, cost control, index-linked escalators and the addition of Datacenter United in February 2025.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Portfolio revenue | £262.9 million |
| Revenue growth (constant currency) | 8.9% |
| Portfolio EBITDA | £125.1 million |
| EBITDA growth (constant currency) | 7.1% |
| AFFO dividend cover on 4.35p target | 1.8x |
| Total available liquidity | £240.8 million |
| Consolidated gearing (net debt/GAV) | 40.7% |
| Consolidated net leverage | 4.7x |
| Insider ownership | 17.5 million shares (2.3%) |
| LTM investment management fee as % of 30 Sep 2025 NAV | 0.6% |
Quick jargon check: AFFO is adjusted funds from operations – a cash flow proxy after finance costs, tax and maintenance capex. Gearing is total net debt divided by gross asset value. On both measures, the company looks sensibly financed, with headroom to invest.
Dividend cover and cash generation
On a 12-month look-through to 31 December 2025, revenue was £364.4 million and aggregate portfolio EBITDA £168.1 million. After company-specific costs of £12.1 million, net finance costs of £49.4 million and tax and other items of £26.8 million, adjusted free cash flow before capex was £79.8 million. After £18.2 million of maintenance capex, AFFO landed at £61.6 million.
Against the target dividend of 4.35p per share – £33.3 million in total – cover was 1.8x. If you include a PLN24.1 million (£5.0 million) term debt repayment at Emitel on 31 December 2025, cover would be 1.7x. That is still healthy for an infrastructure vehicle in today’s rates environment.
Company-specific costs rose mainly because of a higher average share price increasing fees that are linked to market capitalisation. Net finance costs stepped up after refinancings in the prior year and debt drawdowns to fund the DCU and BT Ireland acquisitions.
Balance sheet, debt profile and hedging
The group had drawn debt of £824.7 million and cash of £89.5 million at period end, leaving net debt of £735.2 million. Total available liquidity stood at £240.8 million, including £151.3 million of undrawn facilities. Importantly, there are no debt maturities before June 2029, and over 70% of outstanding debt is fixed-rate or hedged with swaps.
Energy exposure looks well managed. Despite recent market volatility, both CRA and Emitel have hedged nearly all their 2026 energy needs and about half of 2027. Data centres largely pass electricity costs through to customers, so there is no material exposure there.
On balance, 40.7% gearing and 4.7x consolidated net leverage are prudent for contracted, inflation-linked cash flows, but do keep an eye on interest costs and any step-ups as growth capex is deployed.
Operational progress across the portfolio
Emitel, Poland – multi-asset platform still growing
For the nine months to 30 September 2025, Emitel delivered revenue of PLN519.9 million (£104.4 million), up 6.9%, and EBITDA of PLN354.2 million (£71.1 million), up 6.7%. Growth came from new TV and radio agreements in 2024, steady expansion of the towers division and inflation-linked price escalators.
Tower revenue rose 7.4% year-on-year, supported by a build-to-suit programme with Orange Poland. On the broadcast side, a win with Polskie Radio covers 42 emissions with a total contract value of PLN15.3 million (£3.2 million), and a renewal with a regional broadcaster lifted monthly recurring revenue by 5.2%. Emitel is also exploring bolt-on acquisitions in data centres to broaden its digital infrastructure platform.
CRA, Czech Republic – Prague Gateway advances and cash from asset sales
CRA posted revenue of CZK2,132.3 million (£75.1 million), down 0.5%, and EBITDA of CZK1,065.1 million (£37.5 million), up 1.4%. Including asset sales, EBITDA was CZK1,081.5 million (£38.1 million), up 3.0%. A shortfall in budgeted one-off security revenue weighed on the top line, but cost control helped margins.
Prague Gateway, a 26MW data centre development, has substantially completed groundworks and sewerage installation at a cost of CZK157 million (£5.5 million). An independent valuation is being undertaken for inclusion in the 31 March 2026 NAV – as at 30 September 2025, the asset was valued at nil. CRA expects at least CZK340 million (£12.3 million) of cash this year from optimising and selling redundant real estate assets, and it has acquired nangu.TV to bolster IPTV/OTT capabilities. Funding options for the first construction phase include reinvested free cash flow, available debt and potential minority equity.
The long-running Czech legal dispute remains unchanged since November 2025.
Speed Fibre, Ireland – integrating BT Ireland’s wholesale business
Revenue rose to €72.6 million (£61.8 million), up 11.3%, with EBITDA at €18.8 million (£16.0 million), up 2.6%. Adjusted EBITDA, which includes cash receipts from indefeasible rights of use (IRUs), increased 11.0% to €19.1 million (£16.3 million). The contribution from Enet Communications Limited (ECL) and one-off items helped, although higher-than-normal churn tempered recurring revenue.
Management is focused on integration, cost efficiencies and product refinement while building a stronger commercial pipeline. Cautious optimism feels warranted.
Datacenter United, Belgium – capacity secured for growth
DCU delivered €25.7 million (£22.2 million) of revenue and €7.9 million (£6.8 million) of EBITDA for the nine months to 30 September 2025. The platform is targeting significant new colocation sales in 2026 and has secured an additional 17MW in Antwerp to be built over three years. There is a push to improve power usage effectiveness through cooling upgrades. At 31 December 2025, DCU had €52.5 million (£45.8 million) of drawn debt, €67.5 million (£58.8 million) undrawn and €2.2 million (£1.9 million) of cash.
Hudson Interchange, New York – sales momentum and capacity expansion
Revenue for the nine months to 31 December 2025 rose 5.7% to $18.1 million (£13.6 million). Two new data halls adding 2MW are progressing, with new space expected to be available for sale from Q1 of the next financial year. The EBITDA loss narrowed to $(2.7) million (£(2.0) million) for the quarter, a 17.2% improvement, and management is exploring strategic options to optimise value.
Belgian Tower Company – 5G broadcast progress and cash returns
BTC continues to work with peers globally on 5G broadcast technology, including trials during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Subject to any growth projects, BTC expects to pay another distribution to the company in the next financial year.
Insider alignment and fees
Since November 2025, Directors and the Investment Manager’s Digital Infrastructure team bought a further 1.4 million shares. Cordiant Capital sold 0.6 million shares in the period. Insiders now hold 17.5 million shares, or 2.3% of the company. The management fee is based on market capitalisation rather than NAV and has no floor, which helps alignment; the LTM fee equates to 0.6% of 30 September 2025 NAV.
My take: positives, watchpoints and what could move the shares
- Positives: credible growth in revenue and EBITDA, 1.8x dividend cover, ample liquidity of £240.8 million, no maturities before June 2029 and strong energy hedging. The planned Main Market migration could be a catalyst for liquidity and valuation.
- Watchpoints: consolidated net leverage at 4.7x means execution on growth capex must be disciplined. Interest costs are higher post-refinancing. Prague Gateway is pre-revenue and still awaiting anchor tenants and a formal valuation.
- Upcoming catalysts: shareholder vote and FCA approval for the migration; the 31 March 2026 NAV, which is expected to incorporate a valuation for Prague Gateway; bolt-on M&A at Emitel or within data centres; and sales momentum at Hudson and DCU.
Overall, this is a confident update from a diversified digital infrastructure owner-operator. If management lands the migration and keeps delivering operationally while managing leverage, the set-up for medium-term value creation looks favourable.
