Keen Venture Partners launches €90m fund to invest in UK tech

By on November 17, 2016   /   Blog Post, business, Investment, PE/VC, telecom   /   Leave a comment
Keen Venture Partners launches €90m fund to invest in UK tech

Keen Venture Partners, a new VC firm operating out of London and Amsterdam, has announced the launch of its €90m inaugural tech investment fund. Called Keen Venture Partners Fund LP, the fund will look to invest in between €5m to €10m per early stage tech company. In Europe, the fund will focus on innovation hubs across the UK, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. Additionally, it will also consider US-based tech companies looking to expand into Europe. Founded by Ben Verwaayen, former CEO of both BT and Alcatel-Lucent; Alexander Ribbink, former COO of TomTom;

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Maven leads MBO of Indigo Telecom

By on July 14, 2016   /   Blog Post, business, Investment, M&A, PE/VC, telecom   /   Leave a comment
Maven leads MBO of Indigo Telecom

Maven has completed the MBO of Indigo Telecom Group, investing alongside fellow private equity manager YFM Equity Partners, to acquire the business from parent TTG-Global Limited. The business will benefit from a £12m funding package to accelerate growth, including additional funds to support a buy and build strategy. This transaction continues a strong period of recent investment for Maven, having already completed private equity investments in 2016 across the technology, support services, healthcare and specialist manufacturing sectors for client funds. Recent investments include: backing the MBI of document management specialist Prime Document; supporting new

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Soros logs on to ultra-fast broadband

By on June 9, 2013   /   Blog Post, Investment, telecom   /   Leave a comment
Soros logs on to ultra-fast broadband

A tiny London broadband provider with just 49 employees has secured heavyweight backing from George Soros in a plan to roll out ultra-fast broadband internet connections to half a million British homes. Hyperoptic, founded in 2011 by Boris Ivanovic, a Serbian entrepreneur, claims to provide internet speeds of a gigabyte a second — 83 times as fast as the national average. The privately owned business has completed a £50 million fundraising with the bulk of the money coming from Quantum Strategic Partners, a vehicle that invests on behalf of Mr

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Daisy Group to manage 2e2 Data Centre business | Comms Dealer

By on February 19, 2013   /   Blog Post, business, PE/VC, telecom   /   Leave a comment

Daisy Group has been appointed by Oakley Capital Private Equity to manage the 2e2 Data Centre business, doubling the amount of data centre power resource across the Group. Oakley has acquired, through a purpose vehicle, Daisy Data Centre Solutions, the business and assets of the 2e2 Data Centre business owned by the 2e2 Group that is in administration. via Daisy Group to manage 2e2 Data Centre business | Comms Dealer.

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Technology M&A in the UK set for ‘exciting year’ backed by private equity and corporates

By on February 11, 2013   /   Blog Post, business, PE/VC, telecom   /   Leave a comment

With 2012 yielding deals worth £8.3 billion in the UK technology sector, most industry professionals are forecasting more of the same for the coming year. A recent report by BDO is suggesting that a combination of cash rich corporates, ‘bullish’ private equity firms and improving liquidity within capital markets will see UK technology M&A continue to outperform the wider market. BDO’s Paul Russell says that 2013 is set to be a positive year for UK tech M&A. ‘All the conversations we are having with trade buyers and private equity houses

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Outsourcery raises further £4m to support continued rapid growth | Comms Dealer

By on February 9, 2013   /   Blog Post, business, PE/VC, telecom   /   Leave a comment

Outsourcery has raised a further £4m to support its growth and scale the business. As the funding round was oversubscribed, the company may elect to raise a further £1m. This financing round included investments by both individual and institutional investors. The cmpany continues to experience strong growth in demand for its integrated cloud-based services via its growing number of partners and their end-customers. Outsourcery’s partners include IT and communications service providers and systems integrators of all sizes. The demand for Outsourcery’s cloud-based services has been particularly strong in the enterprise,

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UK 4G auction: Final outcome far from certain

By on January 10, 2013   /   Blog Post, business, telecom   /   Leave a comment

Milan Sallaba, Head of Telecoms Strategy Advisory at KPMG, comments ahead of the start of the UK 4G spectrum auction process: “Each of the existing UK mobile network operators is under significant pressure to upgrade their networks to 4G, but most of them are having a tougher time making money from mobile data. Unless additional credible contenders emerge and join the bidding, the auction may bring in less than the £3.5bn expected by the government. “In Germany, where the auction took place in 2010 , the 4G spectrum went for

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Is Daisy suffering from Indigestion?

By on November 29, 2012   /   Blog Post, business, telecom   /   Leave a comment

Daisy is a shopaholic. In its brief history, the business telecoms group has bought 18 companies. This has come at a cost. Customer churn has meant the group is consistently in the red. It was a similar story this half, as losses accelerated due to mounting amortisation costs. Cash conversion improved, however, which should provide some relief for investors. Daisy’s shares currently trade on a forecast price/earnings ratio of 6.5, below the sector average and TalkTalk’s on 13.9. Unlike TalkTalk, though, Daisy does not pay a dividend, however, it has promised to

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Ovum believes the Time for Enterprise Social Networking is now

By on October 16, 2012   /   Blog Post, telecom   /   Leave a comment

The time has come to think seriously about enterprise social networking and consider its role within wider enterprise collaboration strategy, according to global analyst firm, Ovum. In a new report* the global analyst firm says the enterprise social networking market is starting to mature and is moving from the introduction phase into the growth phase. Strategic acquisitions have already been made by start-ups and establish vendors alike. Richard Edwards, Ovum analyst and author of the report, comments: “Ovum’s current assessment of the enterprise social networking market indicates that Jive and

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Could the cloud help Britain out of recession?

By on October 16, 2012   /   Blog Post, telecom   /   Leave a comment

Cloud computing must remain at the centre of business strategies to combat the challenges associated with rising costs. SMEs often point to IT as a major capital expense in their businesses but it is possible to reduce the financial burden without cutting down on innovative technology. Investing in cloud computing technology – where software and hardware is pooled centrally and made available over the internet – will enable small and medium-sized businesses across the UK to reduce costs and enhance efficiencies. The Office for National Statistics released figures showing that

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