High fives for Wheeldon as he launches So Purple Group

ENTREPRENEUR Gavin Wheeldon has unveiled his latest venture – the acquisition of five tech businesses which he has merged to create So Purple Group.

Mr Wheelson, who built uip and sold Oldham-based Applied Language Solutions to listed giant Capital just before last Christmas, left earlier this year to pursue his passion for building and creating new enterprises .

So Purple Group is made up of ADSL24, Lawton Bailey, RedBox Media, InGame and IMS24. Mr Wheeldon is already recruiting for six new sales staff and plans to achieve sales growth of 100% in the first year of the new venture.

The plan thereafter is to double sales growth year-on -ear over the next three year period.

The group will focus on building a range of business software and connectivity solutions, from being an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to network development and support. All its software and services will be provided as a Cloud-based solution.

It is entering the consumer broadband market too with the launch of a  “fast, unthrottled broadband service” aimed at onlibne gamers looking for better technical support and faster streaming.

Mr Wheeldon said: “With So Purple I am surrounded by a team of incredible software developers and designers who are working together to build big ideas for business technology solutions.

“The talent that already exists within the group has managed to grow a number of credible and successful business operations, through a word of mouth approach, and we are all very excited about what sales can be achieved by implementing a solid marketing and sales model.

“We are essentially harnessing a platform that exists, complementing it with knowledgeable and creative people, and driving the commercial side of the business while maintaining the core elements of service and expertise that will be essential to setting So Purple apart from the competition.

“I trained as a programmer and have always had a real passion for technology-driven business process solutions, so this is a natural move for me in terms of a venture that excites me and gets me back to my career roots.”

Initially focused on the domestic market, Mr Wheeldon plans to launch in the US too.

He added: “We have some innovative plans for more products and services in the pipeline, which we plan to develop in-house using the knowledge and creative minds within the business.  However if we identify any like-minded ISPs along the way we will definitely be interested in further acquisition opportunities.”

Mr Wheeldon is 75% shareholder of the holding company that owns 100% of the five businesses in the group.