Telecom firm wins £100m equity funds
Atelecommunications company with offices in Cardiff has just secured £100m in funding. Onecom, the UK’s largest independent business telecommunications provider, has secured the package from mid-market private equity firm LDC and credit funds managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation.
Onecom currently manages nearly 100,000 business customers, delivering communication services and unified solutions across fixed-line voice, connectivity and cloud computing to some of the UK’s most dynamic companies. These include Farrow & Ball, Thwaites, Celtic Manor and 118 UK Ltd.
Headquartered in Fareham, Hampshire, the business has doubled its revenues over the past five years. It employs 400 people across 10 regional offices and its partners include Samsung, Apple, Gamma, Mitel and Virtual1. It is also a major partner of Vodafone, and last month they announced a five-year deal that will be worth up to £600m in revenue.
A spokesperson said: “The funds will help with our plans to bolster organic growth and further improve operations across our regional offices, including Cardiff.”
Onecom says the investment will be used to help meet CEO Ben Dowd’s
growth plans. Over the next three to five years, it expects to increase the workforce substantially, invest in systems and processes that ready the business for scale, and make acquisitions.
Onecom also announced Mark Thompson as its chairman. Founder Darren Ridge remains a significant shareholder and becomes a non-executive director.
Mr Dowd said: “I am delighted that LDC have backed the Onecom management team to pursue our growth strategy over the next few years. We have worked very closely with LDC over the last few months and they share the same level of ambition as we do.
“This investment will help accelerate Onecom’s growth organically and inorganically.”
The investment was led by LDC head of London Yann Souillard, who will take a place on the board as a non-executive director.
Mr Souillard said: “Onecom occupies a unique position in the business telecommunications market, offering a truly converged solution with the market’s leading operators and equipment manufacturers.”