The deal broadens Onecom’s geographic reach and adds an established customer base.

Gradwell Communications, which reported annual revenue of £10.72 million as of October 2023, specialises in VoIP phone systems, SIP trunking, and connectivity solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Founded in 1998, one of its main offerings is Wave, a proprietary cloud-based VoIP phone system designed specifically for smaller businesses.

Darren Ridge, CEO of Onecom Group, said: “Gradwell is highly complementary to our growth plans. Both businesses share a strong customer-first culture and a commitment to delivering outcome-driven communication solutions.

“This acquisition enhances our service portfolio and geographic presence, enabling us to offer more comprehensive solutions through our direct sales and partner channels.”

Jamie Ward, CEO of Gradwell, added: “We’re proud of what we’ve built and excited to join forces with Onecom. Our aligned cultures and shared dedication to innovation and customer service create new opportunities to deliver greater value to our customers.”

Hampshire-based Onecom employs over 700 staff and offers services from Vodafone, Zoom, Gamma, and Microsoft. Established in 2002, the company serves 80,000 business customers, managing more than a million services across mobile, fixed-line, broadband, unified communications, and IT solutions.

The refinancing allows Onecom to consolidate its existing financial arrangements while providing the flexibility to pursue new market opportunities. It will also enable the company to enhance its services across fixed-line voice, connectivity, managed cloud, and IT solutions, serving nearly 100,000 business customers nationwide.

The financing builds on a successful five-year partnership with LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, and Ares Capital. LDC is a prominent investor in UK mid-market businesses, with plans to invest £1.2 billion over three years across technology, healthcare, and financial services. Its portfolio currently includes 90 companies.

“We have a fantastic relationship with LDC and Ares, which has underpinned our growth ambitions through M&A activity and organic expansion. Securing this new financing facility is a testament to the strength of that partnership. With this support, we are well-equipped to execute our strategic goals, expand our capabilities, and reinforce our position as a leader in communications and technology solutions,” said Onecom CEO Martin Flick (ma.in pic)

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Cubbie units are sensory management systems designed to provide a controlled environment are often used in schools, therapy centres, healthcare facilities, and workplaces to help individuals with sensory processing challenges, such as those on the autism spectrum.

The 30-mile round trip from Onecom in Whiteley to Havant Academy was waved of by former Southampton FC player Matt Le Tissier.

Ridge was a pupil at Havant Academy, formerly known as Wakeford Comprehensive School. Many of its students with suffer from social, emotional, and mental health challenges. The new sensory equipment is expected to provide support for these students.

“Visiting my former school reminds me of the immense challenges these students and teachers face daily and their incredible resilience. Thanks to the generosity of our riders and sponsors, we can now provide technology that will make a meaningful difference in these students’ lives.”

Ridge sent up the Ridge Foundation to support Havant Academy

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/onecom-founders-team-bike-ride-raises-30000-havant-academy/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/onecom-group-vodafone-seal-biggest-ever-agreement/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/onecom-group-vodafone-seal-biggest-ever-agreement/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 20:27:46 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/onecom-group-vodafone-seal-biggest-ever-agreement/ Vodafone and unified comms managed service provider Onecom have agreed on a five-year deal for Onecom to deliver more Vodafone airtime, 5G, IoT and digital connectivity solutions to Onecom’s 70,000 business customers.??

Vodafone and unified comms managed service provider Onecom have agreed on a five-year deal for Onecom to deliver more Vodafone airtime, 5G, IoT and digital connectivity solutions to Onecom’s 70,000 business customers.??

??Onecom claims this is the largest partner agreement done with Vodafone. It manages more than 400,000 business mobile users on Vodafone with connectivity options delivered through its 400 channel resellers. ??

The two companies have worked together for 20 years and Onecom has been voted Vodafone’s “Strategic Partner of the Year” for the last 13 years and “Innovation Partner of The Year.

Onecom CEO Martin Flick (main pic), said, “We have expanded the portfolio with a 50/50 split across mobile and non-mobile technologies, with solutions that deliver customer benefits aligned to business outcomes.”?

“With the support of LDC investment in 2019 Onecom has doubled revenues and diversified and expanded product set and extended market reach, opening up a significant addressable market for us and Vodafone”.??

Vodafone head of indirect business Kathryn Platt added, “This long-term partnership cements our commitment to provide best-in-class solutions together”.

Onecom says it is “the UK’s leading business telephony and cloud communications provider”. It currently delivers IT services, communications and unified solutions across fixed-line voice, connectivity, and managed cloud to around 100,000 businesses.

Onecom’s head office is in Hampshire with offices in Brighton, Bristol, Luton, Shoeburyness, Gloucestershire, Leeds, Gateshead, Glasgow, Telford, Belfast, Cardiff, Stourbridge and Exeter

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Onecom will be able to sell cloud technology services for Unified Communications, MS Teams Voice and Contact Centres at pre-negotiated rates through the Government G-Cloud framework without having to tender.

Central and local government, health and education bodies, blue light services and charities can now use Onecom’s consultative experts and cloud-based services without having to go through procurement red tape.

Onecom has been approved as a supplier of Cloud telephony solutions (softphones, handsets and smartphones, Connect4Teams (a cloud solution for direct routing, PBX integration, secure voice recording and contact centre capabilities within Microsoft Teams), Contact Centre as a Service ( engagement over the Cloud with performance reporting and analytics)

Suppliers must meet a set of minimum standards. Only those suppliers who state that they meet these minimum standards in the supplier declaration are considered. There are around 31.000 services included in the G-Cloud framework divided into Cloud Hosting, Cloud Software, and Cloud Support. 

“This appointment cements Onecom’s position as a trusted supplier to the public sector, reflecting our commitment to helping UK organisations of all kinds to realise their potential through transformative communications and customer experience technology”, said Onceom CEO Martin Flick.

“We look forward to building new partnerships through this framework, enabling public sector organisations to succeed using the power of our expertise and technology and helping to drive ongoing digital transformation to support a public sector that is agile, efficient and sustainable.”

Onecom claims to be the UK’s leading business telecoms and cloud communications provider, operating from 14 regional offices and supplying over 70,000 business customers with over a million services.

Hampshire-based business telecoms provider has acquired Bristol-based telecommunications contractor Solution IP communications.

Onecom was founded in 2002 and employs 600 people in various offices across the UK, with strategic partners including Vodafone, Mitel, Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Gamma and Five9.

Onecom Group CEO Martin Flick said: “As we continue to grow, supported by LDC, we are delighted to welcome the Solution IP team and customers to Onecom in a move that further supports our mission to build on and extend our geographic presence and customer reach by acquiring strong businesses that share our culture, values and ethos.

“In addition, Solution IP has demonstrable strength in serving both Enterprise and SME customers with leading communication solutions and their established customer base is a perfect fit.”

Solution IP founder Patrick Lincoln added: “We are really excited about becoming part of the Onecom Group and the benefits it will provide to our customers and people.

“Having a shared vision of using our vast experience and expertise to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients was very important to us.”

Onecom has strengthened its existing partnership with Vodafone with an expanded product set.

The Hampshire-based business telecoms provider confirmed the expansion of its £500m strategic partnership with the operator, as the company eyes further growth.

This expansion will see Onecom offer a broader product set for its 450 channel partners, including wholesale and distribution mobile airtime services.

It also includes SIP, SD-WAN connectivity, IoT and 5G, plus Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and SoGEA services.

Since 2019 Onecom has grown its geographical reach across the UK, with a number of acquisitions underpinned by investment from LDC, including 9 Group, Olive Communications and Nice Network.

“The purchase of 9 Group in March 2021 provided access to an established partner channel, which perfectly complements our direct customer offering,” said Onecom CEO Martin Flick.

“It makes perfect sense to extend our long-standing relationship with Vodafone to those partners. Our unrivalled scale, capability and award-winning proposition will empower our channel partners to scale up, and win greater market share together, to the benefit of customers.”

Flick adds that Onecom has more than 100,000 customers and the firm manages ‘in excess of 800,000 mobile, hosted telephony and connectivity end points’.

Vodafone UK business director Nick Gliddon added: “Bringing the energy, alignment, mobile pedigree and broader experience we have developed together over the years to the Onecom channel partners instantly extends our reach and penetration into the market at a critical time as we head towards the 2025 switch off.

Onecom has continued its acquisitive streak after acquiring Russell Telecom Ltd.

It represents the fourth acquisition that Onecom has made in 2021, following the high profile acquisitions of Olive Communications, 9 Group and IP Office Ltd.

The takeover has been backed by mid-market private equity firm LDC, with the acquisition adding 1,500 to the Onecom Group.

Based in Gateshead, Russell Telecom has served the business telecom sector for over 35 years.

Onecom Group CEO Martin Flick said: “Our businesses are a perfect match and this transaction, our fourth in 2021, supports our strategy of acquiring strong businesses that share our culture, values and ethos and our commitment to providing exceptional products and solutions to UK businesses of all sizes.

“Russell has demonstrable strength in the education sector which is an excellent complement to our already existing specialisms that bring proximity to specific customer need in distinct markets.”

Hampshire-based Onecom boasts strategic partnerships with Vodafone, Mitel, Samsung, Apple, Gamma and Five9 among others.

Onecom has completed its third acquisition of the year, after confirming the acquisition of IP Office Ltd.

The acquisition of the Exeter-based telecommunications service provider will bring an additional 700 customers to the Onecom Group.

It follows the takeover of Olive Communications and 9 Group earlier this year and further strengthens Onecom’s geographical footprint in the UK.

The acquisition of Olive Communications enabled Onecom to create the UK’s largest B2B mobile, connectivity and cloud specialist in the UK, the firm claims.

Onecom has been able to acquire these companies after significant backing from private equity firm LDC, which invested £100m into the company back in July 2019.

Commenting on the deal, Onecom Group CEO Martin Flick said: “As we continue to grow, supported by LDC, we are delighted to welcome the IP Office team and customers to Onecom in a move that further supports our mission to build on and extend our geographic presence by acquiring strong businesses that share our culture, values and ethos.

“IP Office has demonstrable strength in the health sector which is an excellent complement to our already existing specialisms that bring proximity to specific customer need in distinct markets.”

Onecom will continue to seek acquisitions following its takeover of fellow Vodafone partner Olive Communications last month.

The move saw Vodafone’s two biggest dealers combine, with the two having a total annual turnover of more than £140 million.

Olive CEO Martin Flick took over as Onecom’s new chief executive, while Onecom founder Darren Ridge moved into a non-executive director role.

It comes after Onecom was backed by private equity firm LDC in 2019 as part of a £100 million investment drive to grow Onecom’s business.

Flick told Mobile News that acquisitions will continue as the market continues to consolidate, with the Vodafone partner now supporting 500,000 corporate and business users.

“We are in a consolidating market, and there’s a lot of people and smaller organisations in particular wondering about their futures, he says.

“The market is consolidating and Onecom, with LDC’s backing, is ideally placed to take advantage of this market consolidation, but at the right pace and the right opportunities; we won’t make acquisitions for the sake of it.”

Greater presence

Since the investment from LDC, Onecom has also acquired Sunderland-based UC specialists Nice Network, Glamorgan Telecom and, early this month, 9 Group.

These acquisitions give Onecom a greater regional presence, says Flick, who adds that Olive will rebrand as Onecom.

“We’ve got good regional reach from a direct perspective, and in our partner channel we’ve got national reach around the whole country as well. We’re very much on the lookout for more partners.

“The plan is to bring the two businesses together. Olive is now part of Onecom and when the time is right, we’ll be rebranding Olive under the Onecom banner. 9 Group will continue to operate as a separate entity under its own brand.”