Founded in 2007 by CEO Tom O’Hagan, Virtual1 featured in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 for three consecutive years and generated revenue close to £18m in 2015/16.
BGF’s funding will be used by the company to invest in additional network infrastructure, and supports its longer-term growth plans.
Steve Scott, former COO of Bridgehouse Capital, will continue to be Virtual1’s Non-Executive Chairman, and Phil Male (formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Cable & Wireless) will join the board as Non-Executive Director following an introduction by BGF. During the past year, Virtual1 has strengthened its senior team with the appointments of Jim Sewell, former Group Sales and Marketing Director at Alternative Networks, as a non-executive board member and Magnus Batsvik-Miller as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently Magnus was Group Finance Director at World First.
Tom O’Hagan said: “The funding provided by BGF allows us to accelerate our expansion strategy whilst retaining control of the business. We are excited about embarking on the next phase of growth to further cement Virtual1’s position as a leading wholesale provider.”
Chris Hodges, an Investor at BGF who has joined the board of Virtual1 said: “Virtual1 is one of the most exciting and innovative telecoms companies in the UK, led by a strong and ambitious leadership team and growing fast. We are delighted to be supporting Tom and his team as they continue to capitalise on the increasing demands for cloud and connectivity solutions in the wholesale market.”
The investment in Virtual1 was led by BGF’s Chris Hodges, George Tsangarides, Thomas McDonnell and Michelle Wilk. BGF, the UK’s most active investor of growth capital, has invested more than £1bn in UK small and mid-sized companies, including unified business communications providers Olive Communications and Maintel, both of which are Virtual1 customers.