Coms firm completes Florida wifi contract
A COMMUNICATIONS business based in the North West which specialises in serving the hospitality sector is celebrating after breaking into the US market for the first time.
Fourteen IP, which is backed by The North West Fund for Venture Capital, managed by Enterprise Ventures, has just completed the installation of a new wifi solution for The Chesterfield Palm Beach Hotel in Florida.
It has also won the contract to supply its EvolutionVoice hosted telephony solution to two of the USA’s most hip boutique hotels – Soho House New York and Soho Beach House Miami – along with their sister restaurant Cecconi’s West Hollywood.
Fourteen IP, which employs more than 40 staff at sites in Newton-le-Willows and Leigh, was launched in 2011 by the current managing director, Neil Tolley, and two colleagues who had worked together for 14 years at other telecoms companies.
The compnay’s first contract was in Baku, Azerbaijan and the team have gone on to build a client base of hotels, bars and restaurants in over 20 countries.
In 2013 it secured a £500,000 investment from The North West Fund for Venture Capital to support its growth. The company has more than doubled its workforce in the past 12 months.
Fourteen IP provides a comprehensive range of voice and data solutions to support telephony guest wifi and other data and IT requirements.
Tolley said: “Modern hotels require a complex voice and data network to support their operation and meet the demands of their guests.
“We understand their requirements, and have a reputation for building reliable systems and acting quickly to put things right if problems do arise. Although we have clients throughout Europe and Asia, entering the US market for the first time is a landmark achievement for the business.”
Will Clark of Enterprise Ventures added: “Making progress in the US is notoriously difficult. These latest contract wins reflect Fourteen IP’s approach in putting the customer at the centre of everything it does, irrespective of the challenges involved.
The North West Fund for Venture Capital is part of The North West Fund and is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.
