NTT Com picks off UK datacentre provider

Japanese corporation buys an 85 per cent stake in UK firm Gyron

Japanese telecoms giant NTT Comunication (NTT Com) has bolstered its UK channel presence by acquiring an 85 per cent stake in UK datacentre service provider Gyron.

NTT Com and parent NTT are no strangers to channel M&A activity, having acquired security VAR Integralis 2009 and network integrator Didata in 2010, respectively.

Gyron managing director Robin Balen and operations director Ben Miller hold the remaining 15 per cent stake in the company, which provides connectivity services to the likes of Adobe and Symantec, as well as music streaming service Spotify.

Balen said: "Our existing and future customers will benefit from this investment and the continued provision of our high-quality wholesale and retail colocation services."

NTT Corporation, which currently enjoys operating revenue of more than $120bn, employs 224,250 people worldwide.

The international deal has been hailed a success by Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills.

He said: "[The] investment confirms the UK as the ICT hub of Europe.

"I am therefore personally delighted with today's announcement by NTT Com, which shows the strength of the trade ties between our two countries."

Rob Steggles, European marketing director at NTT Com, added: "NTT as a group has been buying lots of companies over the last few years and there is demand from those companies as well as our channel partners for us to provide some colocation from our facilities. There is demand there that we want to meet.

"For us, I think the most significant part is that our global cloud vision that is being fulfilled and we are making that a reality. This is the first NTT owned data centre in Europe, specifically in the UK, and it's really establishing a NTT owned global footprint to our cloud services."