JT chief executive stands down month after securing £500m deal to buy Manx Telecom - Jersey Evening Post

by · Jersey Evening Post

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JT chief executive stands down month after securing £500m deal to buy Manx Telecom

by Julien Morel 15 June 202615 June 2026

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JT chief executive Daragh McDermott has resigned just weeks after overseeing the biggest deal in the taxpayer-owned utility’s 137-year history.

Mr McDermott, who has been with the business for more than two decades – the last four as its head, said it was the right time for him to move on, both personally but also for the business as it incorporates Manx Telecom into the JT group.

JT formally acquired its fellow Crown dependency telco last month, when the private equity-backed £500m deal was signed after all regulatory hurdles were overcome.

The deal was first announced last October.

JT non-executive director Brian Fitzpatrick has become interim chief executive with immediate effect while the JT board finds a permanent successor. However, Mr McDermott will remain with JT throughout his notice period to support a smooth transition.

He said: “After 26 years with JT, and now in my fifth year as chief executive, I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down.

“It has been a privilege to lead JT and to work alongside such talented and committed colleagues. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, particularly the transformation of the business and the successful acquisition of Manx Telecom Group.

“JT has a strong future ahead and I leave with enormous confidence in the business, its people and its leadership team. I look forward to supporting Brian and the board over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.”

JT chair Andy Green said: “Daragh has made an exceptional contribution to Jersey’s telecom sector and JT for almost three decades, changing the structure and strength of the industry and helping shape JT into the strong, confident, forward-looking organisation it is today.

“The recent acquisition of Manx Telecom Group represents a significant milestone, and the foundations now in place position JT strongly for future growth.”

On the appointment of Mr Fitzpatrick as interim chief executive, Mr Green added: “Brian’s extensive leadership experience and deep sector knowledge make him ideally placed to lead the business on an interim basis.”

Recently, the JEP reported that JT had opted not to pay a £20m dividend to the Treasury last year due to the Manx Telecom purchase but also lower profits in 2025 compared to the year previously.

Mr McDermott said at the time: “The last two years have been all about stabilising the business and building our network infrastructure, transforming JT in terms of our size, and then achieving the scale to start growing again.

He added that the Manx Telecom acquisition was “all part of a significant turnaround at JT”.

“Next year, we will see a bigger and more profitable JT,” he said. “JT remains wholly owned by the Government of Jersey and we never forget that: the whole point of incorporation in 2003 – and I joined JT to project manage that – was to separate the business from government and charge it to ‘go and grow’.

“We now have a fantastic network to achieve that; we are right on plan.”

Mr Fitzpatrick is a past chief executive of Vodafone carrier services and managing director/president of BT Wholesale.

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