Cloud Computing Centre
LONDON – 26th July 2012 – Six Degrees Group today announces it has raised £8 million in new funding from Penta Capital and that it has completed the acquisition of Cloud Computing Centre (CCC), a Surrey-based managed cloud hosting expert established in 1999.
CCC focuses on the cloud market and brings over 100 mid-market hosting customers who spend an average of £36,000 pa. The acquisition takes Six Degrees Group’s run-rate position to £50m revenue and £12m EBITDA. CCC’s cloud platform is highly complementary to the existing Six Degrees technology and they are also a Microsoft Gold Partner and Silver Hosting Partner, bringing incremental skillsets for Microsoft Hyper-V to the Group.
Commenting on the acquisition, Alastair Mills, CEO of Six Degrees Group, stated:
“I am delighted to welcome Cloud Computing Centre to Six Degrees Group. This is a significant acquisition for us as it reinforces our mid-market focus, strengthens our managed cloud hosting team and brings outstanding technical capabilities to the Group.”
In response, Keith Bates, CEO of Cloud Computing Centre, stated:
“This is an exciting day in the evolution of Cloud Computing Centre. We felt that the time was right to join forces with one of the fastest-growing managed data service providers in the sector, especially when we have so much in common. Joining Six Degrees Group will significantly strengthen our ability to win mid-market and corporate cloud hosting contracts and to deliver new services to our existing clients.”
Serverstream
Six Degrees Technology Group today announces that it has completed the acquisitions of two London-based pure-play managed hosting and cloud providers. Firstserv and Serverstream were both founded over 10 years ago and focus exclusively on the rapidly growing hosting market with a particular emphasis on the digital media, publishing and leisure sectors. Customers include Sunseeker, The Spectator and Port of London Authority.
Both Firstserv and Serverstream will be integrated into Six Degrees Group’s managed data division where they will add £3m of hosting revenues, representing a mix of managed hosting, cloud hosting (virtual private, private and hybrid) and complex web hosting. 17 highly-skilled personnel will be joining Six Degrees Group where they will focus on integrating and expanding the Group’s hosting platforms. The acquisitions are part of a series of strategic investments being made in the Six Degrees Group’s cloud offering.
Following these transactions, Six Degrees Group’s run-rate revenues now exceed £40m with underlying EBITDA of over £10m. The company continues to enjoy strong double-digit organic growth, underpinned by cross-selling.
Alastair Mills, CEO of Six Degrees Group, stated:
“I am delighted to welcome both Firstserv and Serverstream to Six Degrees Group. This announcement sees the Group continue to focus on managed data services, particularly in the fast-growing cloud hosting sector. Our goal for 2012 is to become one of the top five hosting and cloud providers in the UK.”
Gordon Kenneway, MD of Firstserv, said:
“This is an important day for all at Firstserv. Our employees will now have access to a larger, geographically diverse hosting platform with best-in-class compute and storage resources, which is also a very exciting step for our customers. I am looking forward to joining Alastair and the Six Degrees team to help establish their position as one of the UK’s fastest growing cloud companies.”
Jonathan Obadia, MD of Serverstream, commented:
“We are excited to be joining Six Degrees Group. Serverstream has a strong reputation for delivering complex hosting solutions to mid-market customers and this merger enables us to continue our expansion with additional services, scale and geographical diversity. Our customers will continue to receive the same exceptional levels of service and support that they’ve become accustomed to, with the added benefit of access to additional resources and complementary services.”
Ultraspeed
Six Degrees Group today announces that it has completed the acquisition of Ultraspeed, a London-based managed hosting and managed cloud provider. Ultraspeed was founded in 1998 and serves a variety of FTSE 250 companies, charities and digital media customers, including Nando’s, British Heart Foundation, John Brown Media Group and Bon Voyage Travel & Tours.
Ultraspeed is a pure-play managed hosting business that will be integrated into Six Degrees Group’s managed data division. Ultraspeed has an average customer spend of £25,000 per annum, positioning it strongly into the mid-market that is the focus for Six Degrees Group. Most of Ultraspeed’s revenues derive from Private Cloud Services with the remaining being a blend of dedicated server and shared cloud server hosting. Ultraspeed’s team, which has deep expertise in the managed and cloud hosting sector is highly complementary to the Six Degrees Group’s cloud offering.
Alastair Mills, CEO of Six Degrees Group, stated:
“I am delighted to bring Ultraspeed into Six Degrees Group. Our 2012 strategy is very clearly focused on expanding our managed hosting and cloud capabilities and this acquisition marks a significant move in that direction. Ultraspeed brings advanced technologies to the Group and a talented team of people with superb hosting know-how. In addition, their customer base is in our mid-market sweet-spot and they boast a strong presence in the digital media sector that is a key industry for Six Degrees Group. Forrester Research predicts that cloud services will grow at 27% CAGR and our current performance comfortably exceeds that level. With more investments in hosting and cloud to follow, I am confident that we are well-positioned to be the fastest growing and most admired managed data services company in the UK mid-market.”
In response, Jordan Gross, CEO of Ultraspeed, commented:
“This is an exciting development for Ultraspeed’s employees and customers. We have built a very strong business focused on managed hosting and cloud services. I decided that it was right for Ultraspeed to join Six Degrees Group as that will allow us to add strong network and datacentre offerings to our proposition, along with converged services, giving us a strong end-to-end capability. We’ll also have greater financial strength and a broader technology platform allowing us to continue to target larger companies in the mid-market space.”
Global Gold
Cloud computing and hosting firm expects to complete “three of four” new acquisitions this year.
Hosting and cloud computing firm Iomart saw pre-tax profits more than double in the 2011 year to £5.8 million on the back of three new cash generative acquisitions.
The Glasgow-based company said revenues for the year to March 31, 2012 were up 33 per cent to £33.5 million, and 95 per cent of revenues are now recurring.
Adjusted profits before tax, before taking into account acquisition, asset and finance costs, were £6.8 million compared with £3.93 million the previous year.
In the past year, Iomart acquired Switch Media Ltd, EQSN Ltd and Global Gold Holdings Ltd – all of which Iomart says have contributed to “a substantial increase in profitability over the year”, with integration now complete.
Iomart acquired Liverpool-based cloud computing and hosting firm Switch Media in a £1.3 million deal in April 2011, which added 100,000 new customers to the group.
It then added Essex-based web hosting firm Global Gold Holdings in a £1.2 million deal and Glasgow-based managed hosting firm EQSN Ltd for £2.47 million, both last November.
Chief executive Angus MacSween said Iomart will looks to close “three or four” more deals this year to acquire managed hosting businesses which have established customer bases.
“Really what we are looking for profitable companies which have a good customer base,” MacSween said.
“Those customer bases then grow with us, as we continue to expand, and in the past year, we have added around 200 new customers to our managed hosting division – our main organic growth brand – on contracts of between two to four years.”
Iomart said cash generated from ordinary operations for the 2011 year rose to £9.6 million compared with £7.1 million the previous year.
The group invested £7.4 million last year – £4.5 million on acquisitions – and £2.4 million on infrastructure and equipment for its managed services offering.
MacSween said: “We have enjoyed an excellent year and continue to consolidate our position within the UK cloud computing and hosting market.
“We have continued to invest in our datacentre and network infrastructure, our people and our product set, giving us a firm platform from which to move forward.
“We are in a market that is essentially still in its infancy with many years of growth ahead and we fully expect to participate robustly in that growth.”
He added: “Since the end of the financial year trading has been encouraging and in line with expectations.
“We continue to be well placed to take advantage of the growing trend of companies organising their internet or ‘cloud’ infrastructure to ensure resilience, scalability, security and value for money.
“We believe we have the relevant skills and experience which we have built up over many years to be the partner of choice for such organisations.
“I look forward with confidence to the year ahead.”
Iomart owns its own infrastructure network, now comprising five UK based data centres, offering managed hosting, content delivery networks, data centre services and cloud computing.
In April, Iomart was named Scottish PLC of the Year at the Insider Scotland plc Awards as well as AIM/Mid sized cap plc of the Year.
Heart Internet
It all begins with an idea.
Host Europe Group, the largest privately owned hosting group in Europe, which incorporates 123-reg, Host Europe and Webfusion, has today announced that it has acquired Nottingham-based web hosting company Heart Internet, which will result in Host Europe Group becoming the UK’s largest provider of sophisticated reseller hosting products, utilising cloud technology and offering a wide product portfolio that is capable of meeting the needs of everyone from novices to high end users with enterprise standard infrastructure requirements. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Heart Internet will now join Host Europe’s portfolio of businesses and together the combined infrastructure of the UK operation will reach a customer base of approaching one million. This is great news for customers who will now benefit from both companies’ expertise and brand strength – with Heart Internet being the preferred reseller choice in the UK. Through combining and integrating the complementary product ranges and infrastructure, the group extends its capabilities and footprint into an attractive and differentiated niche segment of the hosting market whilst allowing Heart Internet to benefit from Host’s Cloud platform and suite of fast growing virtualisation services.
Heart was founded by Jonathan Brealey and Tim Beresford, who also established 123-reg and Webfusion, both of which were acquired by Host Europe in 2003. Jonathan and Tim will remain within the business, not only to cement the partnership but also to realise the vision of the shared product set that is made available to the combined customer base. The Heart Internet team will continue to operate from its Nottingham base, whilst benefiting from access to Webfusion’s state of the art data centre.
Thomas Vollrath, CEO of the Host Europe Group, said:
“This is a great opportunity for both businesses and our customers, who will benefit from a full suite of complementary product ranges from a one stop shop that will cater for all their hosting requirements. We have jointly developed a product integration plan for all customers, ranging from domains, value added-services, shared hosting, cloud hosting, VPS and dedicated servers to customised and managed hosting solutions which will deliver additional growth for the new combined Group. Heart has won numerous awards for its reseller programme, so combining its expertise with our infrastructure will result in a new centre of excellence within the industry, for both customers and resellers alike.”
Jonathan Brealey founder of Heart Internet, added:
“I am delighted that Heart is joining the Host Europe Group. This deal effectively brings together the preferred reseller brand in the UK with the leading virtualisation player, to create a hugely complementary offering. This is certainly an exciting chapter in the history of Heart Internet, which remains fully committed to both the team in Nottingham and maintaining the highest level of customer service – and will allow Host Europe Group to claim the title of the UK’s largest reseller hosting provider. As both companies are Deloitte FastTrack businesses, independently recognised for growth potential, we are uniquely placed to capitalise on this superb market opportunity and create a brand that is greater than the sum of our collective parts.”
Issued on behalf of Host Europe Group by Punch Communications. For further information contact Pete Goold or Georgina Dunkley on 01858 411 600 or email pete.goold@punchcomms.com / georgina.dunkley@punchcomms.com
About Host Europe Group
Founded in 1997, Host Europe Group is the largest privately owned hosting group in Europe. It offers its 1 million customers domain registration, various hosting services including customised, managed and cloud hosting, and has a software-as-a-service offering. As the biggest domain registrar in the UK, and largest virtualisation provider in Europe, Host Europe Group is the ideal choice for consumers and businesses alike, who seek sophisticated hosting products with a high quality of service and first rate performance . With its leading brands: 123-reg, Webfusion, Host Europe, dynamic-net AG, and Donhost, the Group has a strong market presence in the UK, US, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.
About Heart Internet
Launched in 2004, Heart Internet has grown rapidly to become one of the UK’s leading web hosting companies with a focus on the reseller hosting product niche. Named the UK’s fastest growing Internet company of 2009 by Deloitte, Heart Internet’s core values are based around high-quality products at competitive prices. Heart Internet is currently the fifth largest UK host for TLD domains hosted (source: www.webhosting.info).
Hostroute.com
UK hosting provider Paragon Internet Group Limited is delighted to announce its acquisition of the well-respected hosting provider, Hostroute. Founded in 1998, Hostroute has been a name synonymous with quality for over a decade and provides thousands of clients with excellent shared hosting and domain registration services through its website, Hostroute.com.
Following the acquisition by Paragon, Hostroute customers can now take advantage of 365-day telephone and e-mail support. Plans are already in place for a seamless migration to brand new enterprise-grade server hardware to further improve both performance and reliability for all customers. Prices will remain unchanged for existing customers and all accounts will receive the popular R1soft Continuous Data Protection tool and Softaculous script installer, amongst many other enhancements, at no extra cost.
“Hostroute is already an excellent brand but there is always more we can do. We look forward to bringing our customer service ethos and high-end technology to the Hostroute customer base” said Adam Smith, Director of Paragon Internet Group. He further added, “Over the coming weeks, I will make myself available personally by telephone or e-mail to any Hostroute clients who have any concerns about the transition.
Headquartered in Maidenhead, Paragon Internet Group has over 40 years combined hosting experience at board level and operates some of the UK’s most reputable hosting brands, providing over 20,000 clients with affordable, reliable solutions with a strong focus on quality of service.
Network Flow
It all begins with an idea.
A new Group has been formed through the merger of three leading converged service providers to create a new force in the UK managed data services sector.
Following a significant fundraise and the acquisition of datacentre UKSolutions, MPLS provider NetworkFlow and voice services company Protel, the new Group has 60 staff across four offices and 900 customers.
UK Solutions
A new Group has been formed through the merger of three leading converged service providers to create a new force in the UK managed data services sector.
Following a significant fundraise and the acquisition of datacentre UKSolutions, MPLS provider NetworkFlow and voice services company Protel, the new Group has 60 staff across four offices and 900 customers.
Actimax
Synova Capital (“Synova”), a UK private equity fund focused on the lower mid-market, announces the acquisition of Actimax PLC (“Actimax” or the “Group” or the “Business”).
Actimax is a leading UK supplier of IT and Telecoms infrastructure services to the underserved SME market including the provision of VOIP, systems maintenance, data services, mobile and hosting services. With over 500 customers and high levels of recurring revenue, Actimax represents a stable and fast growing platform for a buy and build in this highly fragmented sector.
Synova has supported the incumbent management team, led by CEO John Massey, in a management buy-out from Foresight VCT PLC. Synova has also appointed Charles Cameron as Non-executive Chairman. Charles brings with him a wealth of operational and acquisition experience in the sector and is the former CEO of managed services provider InTechnology Group plc, having formerly been a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs’s TMT Division in London.
John Massey, CEO of Actimax commented:
“We have been able grow Actimax throughout the economic downturn by combining best quality systems with best value pricing and market leading customer service standards. With Synova’s support we now have the capital available to make complimentary acquisitions with the aim of building a Group with a truly unified and nationwide proposition in IT and telecoms to the UK’s SME customers.”
Philip Shapiro, a Managing Partner of Synova Capital added:
“We are delighted to be backing such a proven and successful management team who have already managed to deliver strong growth throughout the downturn. Actimax has considerable scope to add more products and services and is in an excellent position to act as a platform for a buy and build in the fragmented IT and telecom services market. We are already looking at some potential additions to the Actimax Group and are excited at the prospect of supporting the Group with more capital.”
Newnet
Business Internet Service Provider, Timico, today announced a move that will further strengthen its position as a leading provider of next generation internet and communication services to the UK business community. The acquisition of NewNet plc, the privately owned, Hampshire-based Internet Service Provider will bolster Timico’s own IP services offering, adding further technical expertise and network infrastructure, in addition to a portfolio of well-established business clients, including a number of local government organisations.
“The acquisition of NewNet plc allows us to fulfill our objective of further increasing the size and value of our business by enhancing our range of connectivity and hosting services to address the growing demand amongst business customers for fully-managed network and data centre solutions. With its extensive portfolio of award winning services and its focus on delivering excellent customer support, NewNet clearly shares our commitment to service excellence and will make an exciting addition to the Timico Group” said Tim Radford, Chairman, Timico Group.
Fareham-based NewNet plc whose extensive product portfolio includes bespoke fibre optic networks and LLU services, has a presence in four south coast and five London-based data centres and 11 LLU exchanges. NewNet has seen year-on-year growth since its inception in 1995. The business was started by Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Coates-Buglear, supported since 2002 by John Mobley, Managing Director.
Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Coates-Buglear said: “Our move into the Timico fold is a good one for both NewNet and our customers and I am delighted that we are set to become part of a like-minded ISP with very similar technical infrastructure, growth ambitions and strategic outlook, and we look forward to combining our respective strengths, particularly in the co-location and hosting environments.”
About Timico
Timico is an independent internet service provider supplying business strength IP solutions. Founded in 2004 by a highly experienced management team, Timico is a converged provider that offers a wide range of communication solutions including IP connectivity, hosting and web solutions, IT services, voice solutions, managed homeworking and mobile services. Timico aims to help increase the efficiency of customers’ operations, and use its independence to deliver the most appropriate and best value services. In 2009 Timico were ranked 7th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50. For more information visit www.timico.co.uk
Rapidswitch
iomart group has today acquired the entire issued share capital of RapidSwitch Limited, a leading managed hosting provider and currently ranked by Deloittes as the 10th fastest growing technology company in the UK, for £4.3M cash on completion with a further £0.95M payable on 31st March 2010.
RapidSwitch has become one of Europe’s most respected and technically advanced hosting companies. In recent years RapidSwitch has achieved strong organic growth, via a high rate of repeat business and referrals, through its well deserved reputation for excellent customer delivery and service.
The company is focussed on delivering highly reliable managed hosting solutions for its clients. RapidSwitch currently manages over 4,000 dedicated servers on behalf of 1,600 clients ranging from SMEs through to large corporate. For the year to March 2008 revenues grew from £1.4 to £2.6m and EBITDA was £760k. Similar rates of revenue growth have been maintained through to March 09.
Angus MacSween, CEO iomart Group plc, stated:
“iomart Group’s strong balance sheet, a direct result of our recent disposal of our noncore directory business to BT, has released cash to make strategic acquisitions. The acquisition is in line with iomart’s strategy of becoming the UK’s foremost hosting company, focused on the delivery of managed hosting environments and solutions, be they virtual, dedicated, cloud, or SaaS.”
The purchase of RapidSwitch provides iomart with a fifth data centre, to add to its existing portfolio of 4 newly commissioned UK wide properties. RapidSwitch’s data centre, located in Maidenhead, Berkshire, is newly commissioned and operational, and when fully built out it will give iomart Group the capacity to accommodate a further 600 racks.
Angus MacSween added:
“The purchase of RapidSwitch provides us with additional highly skilled technical expertise and increases the Group’s data centre capacity significantly. We are now even better placed to service a comprehensive range of hosted servers, high density cloud computing, virtualisation and disaster recovery solutions to our clients.”
Ed Butler, MD of RapidSwitch stated:
“We believe today’s announcement will bring enormous benefits to both our employees and customers alike. Over the past decade we have worked hard to build RapidSwitch into one of the fastest growing and most respected dedicated servers companies in the UK. We believe that in joining the iomart group, we will benefit from the economies of scale, ensuring that we have the opportunity continue our rapid growth by reaching new and exciting hosting markets”.
Ed Butler also stated:
“The synergies between the two companies are marked. Both iomart group and RapidSwitch have over a decade of hosting experience, own and manage data centre infrastructure, and most importantly understand the importance of high availability and customer service.”
Finally Angus MacSween stated:
“The market reaction to our focus of the provision of managed hosting and data centre services has been very encouraging to date, and we are convinced that our acquisition of RapidSwitch at this stage of the Group’s evolution will accelerate growth opportunities and profits for the group. We are operating in a growing market, despite the current economic conditions, and we will continue to explore a number of complementary acquisition opportunities over the months ahead which will enable us to add revenues, skills and savings to the group.”
Fused Technologies
ANS Group Plc acquired Fused Technologies, a leading provider of software solutions for Local Authorities.
Streamline.net
Fasthosts, a subsidiary of United Internet AG, has acquired Streamline.net a UK based provider of website hosting.
KeConnect
Timico Ltd., an independent provider of converged communication services to the business market, today extended its internet service and broadband capabilities with the acquisition of KeConnect Group Limited, a UK based independent Internet Service Provider.
The acquisition, which includes KeConnect Group’s principal subsidiary, KeConnect Systems Limited, supports Timico’s objective of becoming a leading player in the converged B2B space by boosting its presence in that market and strengthening its presence in the SoHo/Prosumer sector. The move impacts the mix of services currently provided by Timico to its customers, achieving a more equitable balance between internet, fixed and mobile services. Timico will also benefit from inheriting relationships with over 300 of KeConnect’s specialist computer outlet dealers. These exclusive arrangements will provide a robust channel through which the other Timico converged, fixed, VoIP and mobile communications services can be sold in the future.
“We are delighted to have made our second acquisition. Like Timico, KeConnect is another convergence-focused business and shares our strong commitment to providing high quality, business strength solutions with exceptional personal customer service. By combining the two companies, we achieve a strategic opportunity to further increase the value of our business by gaining a customer base into which we are able to sell multiple services,” says Tim Radford, Chairman, Timico Group.
KeConnect has traded successfully since 1995 as a predominantly B2B Internet Service Provider based near Ipswich. Formed in 1987, the company has grown rapidly and is profitable, with over 6,000 broadband connections and a full suite of internet communication solutions including ADSL, domain names and point-to-point connectivity. KeConnect’s directors, Robert Kemp and Gary Hill will remain with the business as Sales and Technology Director respectively. They will continue to lead and drive the growth of KeConnect, which will run as a standalone subsidiary of the Timico Group. They will both report into Chris Tombs, Chief Executive.
“We are please to be teaming up with a company as well respected as Timico because it offers us tremendous flexibility for our dealers as well as our customers,” says Robert Kemp, Sales Director, KeConnect.
About Timico
A market leader in the provision of VoIP for Business services, Timico is an independent provider of fixed, mobile, internet and converged communication services to the business market and a “one stop shop” for all the communication needs of small and medium sized businesses. Founded in 2004 by a highly experienced management team, Timico brings an unrivalled understanding of its customers’ needs, delivered through its independence, its high levels of customer service and a desire to help its customers to operate more effectively. The company’s portfolio of services includes fixed line, mobile and internet voice and data services. For more information visit www.timico.co.uk
Hotchilli Internet
DXI Networks acquires Hotchilli Internet Limited, a leading Internet Service Provider whose corporate clients include Norwich Union, Ford, Ericsson, Saatchi and Saatchi, Spar, Emap, Save the Children, Oxford University, Price WaterhouseCooper and various NHS and Government bodies.
Metronet
PlusNet Plc acquire Parbin Limited, trading as Metronet.
PlusNet, the UK’s best value internet service provider, today announces the acquisition of Parbin Limited, for £1.7m. The acquisition will be financed from PlusNet’s existing cash resources.
Parbin, which trades as Metronet, has over 16,000 broadband customers and recently topped a Which? magazine survey evaluating customers’ satisfaction with their broadband internet service provider.
Lee Strafford, PlusNet’s Chief Executive, commented:
“The acquisition of Parbin gives us access to a business with a strong reputation and a growing broadband customer base. We plan to broaden product choice and enhance customer support including 24/7 coverage for Metronet’s customers.”
Paresh Morjaria, Parbin’s founder and Managing Director, commented:
“PlusNet has an excellent track record and its customer philosophy is in line with Metronet’s. This development will give Metronet’s customers access to PlusNet’s investment in high value and innovative broadband products.”
PlusNet’s resources will mean that Metronet customers will get access to new services such as VoIP and Wireless Broadband, as well as 24 hour telephone and online support.