Metronet plans further expansion following £45m buyout

WIFI specialist Metrolink (UK) is planning to expand geographically following the £45m secondary management buyout of its business backed by Birmingham private equity firm ISIS Partners.

Metronet – which has a Birmingham operation – is a fast-growing hybrid wireless and fibre Internet service provider.

The company now boasts more than 1,200 business customers from SMEs to blue chip organisations including West Midlands Police and developers Bruntwood and Lend Lease.

Elliott Mueller, CEO, has led the business since 2007, alongside James McCall, who founded Metronet (UK) in 2003 with the operational team of Steven Axon, Craig Timmis and Lee Lawrence. 

Mueller, the firm’s CEO, said: “This funding partnership will bring new faces and even more energy to the management team at Metronet (UK), and will be the springboard for our expansion across the country.

“We look forward to announcing our expansion plan over the coming months.”

Birmingham-based Matthew Caffrey, of ISIS Equity Partners, said: “ISIS is backing an outstanding team and a compelling, disruptive customer proposition that is competitively and technologically differentiated from other ISPs by its wireless technology. 

“We are very excited to partner with Metronet (UK) during its next phase of growth and look forward to continued expansion and success.”

The deal gave an exit to private equity firm LDC, which invested around £15m for a majority stake in Metronet two years ago.

Oakley Capital, Pinsent Masons, LEK and PwC advised ISIS while Altium and Gateley advised the vendor.