• The Spanish telco, which holds a 50% stake in Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), has opened an office in London
• The team there will report directly to Telefónica’s group COO
• The Spanish operator wants to ensure that VMO2 is ‘aligned’ with its strategy

A penny for the thoughts of the Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) management team today as Telefónica, which holds a 50% stake in VMO2, has announced the opening of an office in London so it can be “closer” to UK market developments and ensure the VMO2 team is “aligned” with Telefónica’s new industrial strategy.

In November last year, Telefónica unveiled its five-year Transform & Grow strategy, which highlighted the operator’s focus on its key markets – Spain, Germany, the UK and Brazil. 

Now the giant Spanish telco has announced that as part of its plans to implement its strategy, it has opened an office in London that will report directly to Telefónica's chief operating officer (COO) Emilio Gayo. 

“The creation of this UK office reinforces our commitment to Europe and to the disciplined execution of the Strategic Plan,” stated Gayo in this announcement.  “The UK is a strategic market for the group, and we want a structure that allows us to be closer to the business, support value creation and ensure management [is] aligned with our industrial and financial priorities.”

It added: “The new UK office will aim to support the execution of the strategic priorities defined in Transform & Grow, drive more integrated operational management of the group’s assets in the UK, and strengthen coordination with the group’s business areas and units that support the UK business in order to maximise long-term value creation in one of Telefónica’s four key markets.”

The London office is being headed up by Mario Martín, who has been with Telefónica for more than 30 years, most recently as CEO of its majority-owned international telecom infrastructure division Telxius, “where he led a robust business growth process and managed industrial and financial partners, such as KKR and Pontegadea.”  

Martín will join the VMO2 board, “reinforcing the strategic alignment and governance of the group in one of its main European markets,” noted Telefónica. 

VMO2 is 50% owned by Liberty Global, the international telecom, digital infrastructure and media firm that has been revamping its portfolio for the past year or so: Telefónica’s announcement could easily spark speculation that the Spanish telco might want to increase its stake in VMO2, which is one of three infrastructure-based integrated telcos in the UK (along with BT Group and VodafoneThree). 

VMO2 ended September 2025 with 5.7 million fixed broadband customers, down slightly in the third quarter, and 22.8 million mobile connections (not including IoT or wholesale), up slightly in the third quarter. The UK operator reported total revenues of £7.56bn for the first nine months of 2025, down by 5.1% compared with the same period in 2024, though adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was stable for the period at £2.9bn. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV