Scottish comms provider snapped up by private equity

Commsworld will use cash injection to expand its network across the UK

Edinburgh-based Commsworld has received investment from private equity (PE) house LDC which will see it expand its network across the UK.

Founded in 1994, the company provides connectivity, cloud, security, unified comms and infrastructure services to private and public clients. It has a headcount of 110 across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Aberdeen.

It reported total revenue of £20.2m for its year ending 31 December 2018.

The investment from LDC will see it expand its carrier-grade network to more organisations across the UK.

"There is an insatiable demand for robust, flexible reliable and scalable telecommunications networks as businesses keep up with rocketing data usage," said Ricky Nicol, Commsworld CEO.

"We have created a network that more than meets those challenges and has already had an incredible impact on connection quality.

"We had the choice of a number of options for investment, but we have built a strong relationship with LDC who share our vision for the business and can provide the right balance of support, experience and contacts to help us deliver.

"LDC's investment is a real signal of our intent to further invest in our offering and capacity so we can continue to disrupt the market. Rest assured, we'll be targeting another year of double-digit growth."

Last year Commsworld created what it claimed to be the largest privately-owned network in the UK.

The agreement with LDC will see the PE house's Mark Kerr and Colin Bennett join the Commsworld board, as well as telecoms expert John Trower take on the mantle of chairman.

Kerr, head of LDC in Scotland, added: "Ricky and the team have transformed Commsworld in recent years from a telco reseller into a stand-out national network operator. Our investment will help them to build on this hard work and success and deliver further on their ambitions for Commsworld."

Details of the deal were not disclosed.