ISP Newnet eyes 100 new UK VARs as it guns for big boys

Timico-owned connectivity provider helmed by former Handheld PCs bosses

ISP Newnet Wholesale is aiming to sign up 100 new VARs this year with a personal touch that larger rivals cannot match.

The business is owned by Timico and is headed up by managing director Darren Hilton and sales and marketing chief Pierre Lams, who founded and ran ISV Handheld PCs before selling up to Timico just over two years ago. Newnet's parent company works with 450 resellers across the UK, with Hilton claiming that "the 80/20 rule" applies, with the top fifth of partners providing the majority of sales.

The aim for the coming year, he added, is to recruit quality up-and-coming firms as partners, with the target being to add a century of resellers to the roster. Newnet provides VoIP, connectivity and datacentre hosting services, and Hilton claimed that the firm works with a variety of resellers, managed services providers (MSPs) and mobility specialists.

MSP Claremont was singled out as a model partner, and the Newcastle-based firm has just worked with Newnet to win a big deal with the National Trust, having ousted a major vendor as an incumbent.

"We went up against some big players and the sale took seven months, but we won," said Hilton. "The service went live on 3 January and it has been a resounding success."

Hilton explained that he and Lams had been very hands on in working with Claremont to win the project, and that this is indicative of a level of support that bigger players such as Virgin, BT and TalkTalk are unable to offer.

"A lot of the feedback we get from resellers is that, with the big wholesalers, they are just a number," he added. "They are looking for people who are going to invest some money, time and marketing. They need more than just an account manager."