Fourteen IP takes equity investment from NW Fund
A TEAM who set up their own business providing communications services to hotels have secured a £500,000 investment from the North West Fund for Venture Capital, managed by Enterprise Ventures.
Fourteen IP was set up in 2011 by Neil Tolley and two colleagues who had previously worked together for 14 years, latterly at the telecoms firm Spiritel in Wigan.
The Leigh-based company provides voice and data networks which support telephones, wi-fi and other data traffic at business hotels.
It recorded sales of £1.6m for its first full year to August 2012 and delivered projects in hotels nationally and internationally, including sites for the Marriott and Four Seasons chains and, most recently, the Kempinski Hotel in Vienna.
The company has agreements with suppliers including Hewlett Packard, Mitel, and Motorola and is also working with Otrum, a Norwegian company which supplies TV systems to hotels and has a presence in 30 countries.
As part of the investment David Ashmore, the former chair of Manchester-based wi-fi specialist Metronet, has been appointed non-executive director.
Mr Tolley said: “Modern hotels have a real challenge in keeping up with the demands of their guests who carry ever more technology and demand ever more bandwidth. We have worked with HP to provide a unique occupancy-based pricing solution that allows hotels to install the latest networking technology without capital outlay and with a greatly reduced risk. Interest has been considerable and the investment will be fundamental in helping us take advantage of these opportunities.”
Richard Young of Enterprise Ventures, which manages the North West Fund for Venture Capital, said: “Neil and his colleagues are a classic example of a management break-out team – experienced managers well placed to spot opportunities and become innovators.”
The North West Fund for Venture Capital is part of The North West Fund which is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.
