Maven invests £2.25m in ITS Technology Group

Maven has completed its 8^th VCT investment in the past 12 months by supporting ITS Technology Group with a £2.25 million funding package. ITS, a leading alternative network provider (Altnet), builds and maintains fibre networks, providing fast and reliable connectivity to businesses in mainly rural or harder to reach locations across the UK. Many of these areas are poorly serviced by existing telecommunications infrastructure, which is a barrier for businesses in the region which need fast and resilient fibre communications to operate effectively.  

ITS already operates a number of fibre networks and will use the funding to invest in further networks in new geographical locations, as well as further strengthen the sales and operational capabilities of the business. The company also offers other services to its business customers such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony, wireless technology and IT managed services.

Over the past three years ITS have secured exclusive concession agreements with local authority partners which allows the business to commercialise the spare capacity of the authorities’ existing duct infrastructure. This means ITS can rapidly deploy fibre networks without any significant disruption to the local area and generate much needed funds for the local authority via their revenue sharing model. Customers then benefit from a robust and cost effective fibre solution in areas which have been underserved by the major providers for many years. 

The core management team includes the founder, Roy Shelton, Finance Director Mark Keen and  David Cullen, who is well-known in the Altnet industry, and Chair of the industry association INCA. The team has been further strengthened by the recent appointment of experienced Chairman Kevin Gaskell, and incoming Managing Director Daren Baythorpe, who has 10 years senior level sector experience at BT Openreach. 

Ryan Bevington, Investment Director at Maven said: “We are delighted to support ITS in funding the expansion of its fibre network. ITS is a scalable business with recurring revenues, a strong presence in a high-growth market and an experienced management team capable of driving the business forward.”  

Roy Shelton, Founder of ITS added: “We are really pleased to have secured this investment from Maven to help scale our fibre networks which are becoming increasingly important for the effective delivery of faster, more resilient, and secure broadband connections. The Maven team immediately demonstrated an understanding of the wider market and how our business model is well-placed to take advantage of these opportunities. The funding will enable ITS to expand our fibre network footprint and deliver to new customers from our strong pipeline.”