BT’s fall from grace

Two years ago telecoms giant BT looked on top of the world. But since then the sprawling business has underperformed. Alice Gråhns reports.

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BT should capture customers not trophy assets
(Image credit: C1 PHOTOGRAPHY)

"If only landmark' years came around more often," says Alistair Osborne in The Times. Two years ago the shares of telecoms giant BT hit 450p as CEO Gavin Patterson hailed 12 months of "non-stop success". He trumpeted the best sales in seven years, the acquisition of mobile operator EE, and BT Sports' purchase of television football rights. He raised the dividend by 13% and promised plenty more growth to come, along with annual dividend increases ofat least 10%.

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Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.