UK — Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive Officer of BT, has reversed the company's decision to retire the BT consumer brand. This strategic shift includes a relaunch of the brand with a sponsorship of Euro 2028 and the return of BT Mobile.

The BT brand relaunch event took place in May at Wembley Stadium. Consumer operations, including EE, broadband, mobile, and television, registered subscriber growth for the first time in eight years. EE has been the stadium sponsor and lead partner at Wembley Stadium since 2014.

Last year, BT reported a 3% decline in total revenues. Kirkby increased BT's savings target last month from £3 billion to £3.7 billion. BT projects annual free cash flow of £3 billion by the end of the decade and anticipates its workforce will decrease by approximately 40% to about 75,000 employees within the same timeframe.

Openreach, BT's infrastructure division, lost 825,000 broadband customers last year. BT forecasts Openreach will lose another 800,000 broadband customers this year and projects total Openreach broadband customer losses of 3.2 million over a five-year period. Openreach currently has a broadband user base of 21 million and plans to reach 30 million homes with full-fiber broadband by 2030. BT projects Openreach's annual customer losses will decrease to 288,000 by 2030.

Polly Hopkins, UK managing director of branding agency Elmwood London, stated, "It is going to be confusing because it is flip-flopping." She added, "But the rationale behind it is sensible." Hopkins said, "As a brand BT is emotionally hard-wired into our culture; EE has only delivered in the mobile space really, and what they are trying to do is be seen as the nation's brand for all connectivity." She concluded, "It makes sense." A former senior executive, who asked not to be named, said, "I think she inherited a good hand with a lot of good fundamentals in place; some might say she has been a lucky general, but she has also been a driving force."

Matthew Howett, chief executive of Assembly Research, said, "Openreach is the perennial question." He added, "Looking at the future, the big one is realising the value of the constituent parts of BT." Howett stated, "The wider group does not reflect the value of its constituents." Analysts at New Street Research estimate Openreach is worth £30 billion, while BT has a total market value of £19 billion.

Kirkby joined the BT board in 2019 and is the first female chief executive of BT. She received £5.6 million in pay and bonuses in the previous year. Her predecessor as chief executive was Philip Jansen. BT's share price increased 80% during her tenure as chief executive. Sunil Bharti Mittal is BT's largest shareholder with a 24.5% stake. The UK government stated it would block any increase in Mittal's holding above 24.5%.