A leading UK estate and hospitality group operating across a portfolio of heritage sites, hospitality venues, retail spaces, and remote locations came to us to modernise its network infrastructure.
The project covered 12 geographically separate sites, including high-profile heritage locations, rural hospitality venues, and previously unconnected remote environments.
The need was to move away from the fragmented, ISP-managed connectivity they had and build a unified, secure network which could be controlled internally by the IT team.
The Challenge
The group’s network had changed and evolved over time, not through design, but by necessity.
All the sites relied on one ISP, making flexibility and choice difficult, with legacy infrastructure and inconsistent standards, which created some challenges:
- Siloed internet connections, driving unnecessary cost and complexity
- Limited visibility, with no clear insight into bandwidth usage, device activity, or security threats
- Inconsistent performance, particularly across rural and remote locations
- Disconnected sites, with some locations lacking reliable connectivity altogether
- Operational inefficiencies, with infrastructure unable to support integrated business systems
For the internal IT team, this meant limited control and reactive management, rather than proactive optimisation.
The Approach
The Performance Networks team delivered a full network overhaul across all 12 sites, focusing on standardisation, visibility, and long-term scalability.
Infrastructure Consolidation
The first step was to simplify and unify the network. We consolidated previously fragmented systems into a single architecture, eliminating duplicated costs. This created a consistent, reliable foundation.
Fortinet Security Deployment
To enable centralised control and strengthen security, we installed 12 Fortinet firewalls, including two large enterprise models and 10 smaller units. This delivered advanced threat protection, centralised policy management, and secure connectivity across all locations. As a result, the network has grown from a collection of isolated systems into a single, fully managed environment.
Enabling Previously Offline Locations
One of the most impactful parts of the project was extending connectivity to sites that previously had little or no reliable access. This included remote hospitality locations, rural estate infrastructure, and sites with challenging geography and limited existing cabling. Through a combination of internal fibre deployment and targeted infrastructure upgrades, these locations were brought fully online, enabling operations that had previously been constrained or reliant on manual processes.
Built for Visibility and Control
A key driver for the group was moving away from outsourced network management. The new infrastructure delivers complete visibility of network activity, providing real-time insight into bandwidth usage, device counts and behaviour, and attempted security breaches. Now the IT team can measure, report, and optimise performance using accurate, real-world data.
Supported Transition and Upskilling
We have provided a two-year support agreement to ensure continuity and confidence throughout this transition. This provides ongoing access to expert support for configuration and troubleshooting, helps maintain stability during this period, and enables valuable knowledge transfer to support internal upskilling of IT team members.
The Results
This project has delivered immediate, measurable impact across the group through a more visible and secure network environment. Cost efficiency has improved through consolidation, and the team is now fully ISP-independent, meaning they can use any ISP’s connectivity, offering cost savings and greater flexibility across the estate. These improvements have simplified overall infrastructure management.
Full network visibility now provides complete insight into bandwidth usage, connected devices, and potential threats, enabling the IT team to make data-driven decisions and strengthen reporting and accountability.
Crucially, connectivity has been extended to locations where it previously did not exist or was poor, bringing offline sites online and fully integrating rural and remote environments into the wider network. This has significantly improved operational capability across the estate. Security is now strengthened through centralised firewall deployment, enhanced threat detection, and greater control over network access and behaviour. Across all 12 sites, the group has benefited from a consistent and standardised infrastructure, creating a unified approach to connectivity and a scalable foundation for future growth.
Delivering this project across a mixed estate environment came with a series of real-world challenges, including working in remote locations with limited existing connectivity, coordinating with third-party ISPs, integrating legacy systems, and managing logistical constraints across multiple live sites. Power availability, cabling limitations, and environmental factors also required careful consideration. The project’s success relied on a practical, on-the-ground approach that adapted to each site’s specific requirements while maintaining overall consistency across the network. With a unified network now in place, the group can confidently move into its next phase of digital infrastructure.
