One of Britain’s biggest investors has called for BT to open discussions with shareholders over a possible voluntary sale of its network division, Openreach, amid fears the telecoms giant is being damaged by its long battle with rivals and regulators. Aviva Investors, which has a stake in BT worth hundreds of millions of pounds, told the Sunday Telegraph that “now is the time” for the company to have open discussions with investors about a potential split with its lucrative broadband infrastructure monopoly. Trevor Green, Aviva’s head of UK equities, said: “They obviously have been clear that they don’t want to do it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. “We just think it should be something which should be explored.” The intervention marks the first time a major City institution has publicly suggested BT could volunteer to cleave itself in two. It comes after more than 18 months of fierce debate in which the company’s rivals - Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, which rely on Openreach to serve their own broadband customers - have campaigned for Ofcom to make the network division an independent company. They claim that it does not invest enough in upgrades - repairs faults too slowly. Gavin Patterson, BT’s chief executive, has fought a rearguard action, threatening a legal quagmire and serious problems for the company’s £50bn pension scheme if the regulator attempts to impose a split.
A major UK investor has called for BT to discuss a voluntary sale of Openreach , in order to limit losses from its long - running battle with rivals and regulators . The move by BT Investors , which has a stake in BT worth hundreds of millions of pounds , is the first time a big City institution has publicly said that BT could voluntarily split itself . Trevor Green , BT ’s head of UK equities , said although it is clear BT do n't want the split , " that does n’t mean it ca n’t be done . " The dispute has affected BT 's share price , down nearly 20 % this year .