Salford internet firm Vaioni wins GM Loan Fund backing

A SALFORD Internet company founded with just £300 has become the first business to secure investment from the new Greater Manchester Loan Fund.

Vaioni, which now has 350 customers, including the BBC and NHS trusts, has borrowed £500,000 from the fund, which is managed by the Manchester office of Maven Capital Partners, to boost its growth plans.

The GM Loan Fund was established by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities in August. Baker Tilly Corporate Finance acted as lead adviser to Vaioni on the investment.

Founder Sachin Vaish said: “I am very proud that we have managed to secure this funding. Vaioni is a small, but extraordinary business. Having worked tirelessly over the years, sacrificing greatly to ensure Vaioni and its employees continue to be successful, we have created an exceptional business.

“Clearly our advisers and more importantly our funders, Maven, see something special in Vaioni, our capability today and more importantly our potential for the future.”

Vaioni provides a range of high performance and resilient connectivity and cloud-based services through its products ‘Ethernet Exchange’ and ‘The One Platform’, to businesses across the UK, Europe and South Africa.

The £500,000 investment from the GMLF will help support Vaioni’s growth strategy, whilst allowing it to increase its workforce to more than 20 in the coming weeks.

Andy Thomas, investment director at Maven, said: “Vaioni has developed a highly competitive and innovative proposition and is well placed to expand in this growing sector.

“The management team have worked hard to establish the company, and we hope our funding will help them fulfil their ambitions for the business. Greater Manchester already has an excellent reputation in the digital sector, and Vaioni are at the cutting edge of this. We’re delighted to complete our first deal for the Greater Manchester Loan Fund and we look forward to working closely with Sachin and the team.”

Gary Houghton at business advisers Baker Tilly advised Vaioni while Turner Parkinson provided legal advice to the company. Cowgill Holloway undertook financial due diligence and Gateley advised Maven.

Mr Houghton, corporate finance partner in Manchester, said: “‘This funding from the Greater Manchester Loan Fund will enable Vaioni to expand its sales team and pursue new revenue streams. This is a great example of a new mezzanine fund entering the market place to address the “funding gap” for fast growing SMEs.”