Optimity, one of the UK’s leading providers of innovative network technologies and managed services, is looking to further accelerate its business development with support from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.
The Bank’s Growth Finance team has provided Optimity with a £2.5m funding package, to help expand and strengthen its service-offering across London, grow its workforce and further develop its rapidly growing client base.
One of Optimity’s unique technology offerings is Wibre™, a wireless broadband service which works by transmitting microwave signals between rooftop antennas and provides broadband comparable connection speeds of 10Gbps.
It can be installed in just over a week and this allows businesses to avoid the long lead times required in most cities to install fibre. The service can also reach broadband ‘blackspot’ areas where regular fibre networks are unable to provide high-speed connections due to the challenges involved in laying down physical cables.
The business, which currently employs 55 staff, will use the new financing package to develop its network coverage across the city and plans to further expand its workforce by recruiting 10 more staff over the next 12 months. It is also planning to target investment into its marketing and sales activities to help accelerate the acquisition of new clients.
Andrew Frome, chief financial officer at Optimity said, “As with many cities, London’s internet connectivity leaves much to be desired. We provide our clients with the ability to be connected to a high capacity network in a shorter space of time.
“The new funding from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank will give Optimity the working capital we need to expand our business and further develop our range of business solutions.”
Optimity was founded in Shoreditch in 2003 as a computer repair service which also installed telephone lines for SMEs. Today, it is backed by growth equity investor FPE Capital, operates 320 rooftop aerials across London and has over 1,000 businesses connected to its network.
Alongside Wibre™, Optimity also provides traditional broadband, and a comprehensive range of leading-edge technology solutions, all coupled with a broad suite of industry leading managed service offerings and backed up by considerable in-house expertise to meet the growing needs of its clients.
Stephen Fahy, senior director, growth finance at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank said, “High speed internet connections are vital to help UK SMEs perform at their best. Poor connectivity can be a barrier to business growth, but Optimity is helping businesses to overcome this challenge with its innovative Wibre™ product, which is scaling up internet connectivity levels and enabling the digital economy to have the connections it needs to thrive.
“Our Growth Finance team is committed to supporting SMEs like Optimity which are at the cutting edge of technology solutions. We’re excited to see the next stage of their growth unfold and look forward to working with them in the future.”
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