BT reached an agreement to sell its operations in Spain to private equity company Portobello Capital, as part of plans to cut down its Global Services division and refocus on core operations.

In a statement, BT said the deal involves the sale of 5,600km of optical fibre networks and three data centres, with completion expected during the first half of 2020 following regulatory approval.

Through a wholesale agreement, BT will continue to have access to the Spanish infrastructure and the company will retain offices in Madrid and Barcelona.

BT’s Spanish arm provides networking services to 600 enterprises, and generated around £230 million in revenue during the operator’s fiscal 2018/19, covering the period to end-March.

Bas Burger, CEO of BT Global Services, said the deal would make the company “a more agile and customer-focused business”.

In August, BT was reportedly in talks to sell its Republic of Ireland corporate business to Mayfair Equity Partners for more than £300 million.

Assets in the Netherlands and Italy are also reportedly up for sale as part of a £1.1 billion cost cutting programme implemented by CEO Philip Jansen.