Hutchison Whampoa 'won't exit UK over spectrum auction'

Three denies reports of possible UK exit

Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong conglomerate that runs Three Mobile, has denied that it will cease investing in the UK if it does not get its way in the forthcoming mobile spectrum auctions.

The company has repeatedly complained that the auction of the 800MHz and 2.6GHz licences, finally scheduled to take place later in the year, are biased towards the largest operators.

Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere, the merged Orange and T-Mobile organisation, would have the financial resources to dominate the auctions, potentially leaving smaller third parties, including Three Mobile, with insufficient spectrum to support 4G services.

According to recent newspaper reports, Hutchison managing director Canning Fok has warned Prime Minister David Cameron that his company will cease investing in the UK and may even sell-up and pull out. However, the company has denied the reports.

In a statement, Hutchison said it was not only "happy with its current investments in the country", but was "actively looking at various different investment opportunities in the UK".