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UKFast.Net Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryInternet hosting
Founded1999
FounderLawrence Jones and Gail Jones
HeadquartersUKFast Campus, Birley Fields, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5QJ
Key people
Chairman
Richard Bishop
CEO
Richard Thompson
Technical Director
Neil Lathwood
Managing Director
Vacant
Websitewww.ukfast.co.uk

UKFast.Net Limited (trading as UKFast) was a business-to-business internet hosting company based in Manchester, England. It was principally known for managed hosting, cloud services, and co-location. The business was founded by the convicted rapist, Lawrence Jones. The business owns and operates its data centre complex in Trafford Park.[1]

In 2019, the company employed more than 365 people and in 2018 achieved revenues of £53.9 million.[2]

It provided services to more than 5,000 clients including the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office.[3]

Since June 2022, UKFast.Net Limited and ANS Group Limited, which are both controlled by private equity group Inflexion, merged and have become ANS.[4]

Company history

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UKFast was founded in September 1999 by Welsh businessman Lawrence Jones and his wife Gail Jones.[5]

In 2007, the company moved its head office to the 28th floor of City Tower in Manchester. It acquired further space on the 16th floor, before moving in 2013 to a campus at 1 Archway in the Birley Fields area of Hulme, Manchester.[6][7]

In 2013, the firm launched eCloud, a range of cloud hosting services whose hardware infrastructure reportedly cost £12 million to build.[8] In that year, the business turned over £23.4 million.[9] For the year ending 31 December 2014, UKFast reported a 24 per cent turnover increase from £23.4 million to £28.9 million. Between 2011 and 2015, UKFast invested more than £25 million into capital expenditure projects including the development of four data centres and the flagship UKFast Campus.[10]

In 2013, UKFast opened an office in Glasgow[11] and in 2015 opened a further office in London.[12]

In 2014, founder Lawrence Jones rejected a reported £200 million takeover bid amidst a trend of web hosting consolidation, citing that the business was still growing.[13]

In 2016, UKFast doubled the size of its headquarters by securing a further 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) of space at 3 Archway, Birley Fields, adjacent to its existing building.[14]

In 2018, a 30% stake of UKFast was sold to private equity firm Inflexion for around £120 million[15][16]

On 31 October 2019, CRN reported "Lawrence Jones quits UKFast following sexual misconduct allegations - Financial Times article accused Jones of sexual assault and harassment last week". Jones' wife and current UKFast managing director Gail Jones took over his responsibilities, according to the article.[17]

On 6 May 2020, the Joneses exited the business along with Secarma through a sale to existing private equity investor Inflexion.[18]

Awards and accreditations

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Between 2005 and 2009, UKFast won six Internet Service Providers Association awards and was named "Best Hosting Provider" for four years running.[19][20][21][22][23]

UKFast received the Data Centre Solutions Awards' "Private Cloud Product of the Year" in 2012 and the DatacenterDynamics Award for "Innovation in Outsourcing" in 2013.[24][25]

In the same year, UKFast received the National Business Awards "Employer of the Year" award and the Institute of Customer Service "Employee Engagement Strategy of the Year" award.[26][27]

UKFast has also featured in The Sunday Times' "100 Best Small Companies to Work For" and the Great Place to Work Institute's "Best Workplaces" lists, placing 7th and 8th respectively in 2019, 9th and 25th respectively in 2018, and 5th in both lists in 2017.[28][29] They placed 28th and 12th respectively in 2014, 25th and 5th respectively in 2013, and 45th and 7th respectively in 2012.[30][31][32][33][34][35]

References

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  1. ^ Finnegan, Matthew (2012). "UKFast launches new data centre complex in Manchester". techworld.com. Tech World. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. ^ Ord, Matthew (24 July 2019). "UKFast revenues pass £50m". insidermedia.com. Insider Media. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  3. ^ Begum, Shelina (3 December 2018). "Cloud firm to hit £50m revenues as it gears up for potential IPO". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. ^ Spargo, Charlie (25 October 2021). "New brand set to be revealed as UKFast and ANS announce merger". prolificnorth.co.uk. Prolific North. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  5. ^ "How Lawrence Jones Built UKFast Into A Multi Million Pound Empire". yhponline.com. Your Hidden Potential. 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.[dead link]
  6. ^ "UKFast expands in City Tower and more lettings". insidermedia.com. Insider Media. 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  7. ^ Barry, Chris (2013). "SME / UKFast snaps up 1 Archway for latest data centre". thebusinessdesk.com. The Business Desk. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  8. ^ Graham, James (2014). "News / UKFast launches 'UK's biggest cloud'". thebusinessdesk.com. The Business Desk. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. ^ "UKFast beats £20m turnover target". insidermedia.com. Insider Media. 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Cloud Popularity Fuels Growth At UKFast". insidermedia.com. Insider Media. 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  11. ^ "UKFast Launches In Scotland". insidermedia.com. Insider Media. 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  12. ^ "London calling for UKFast". channelweb.co.uk. Channel Web. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  13. ^ Williams, Christopher (14 June 2014). "UKFast chief turns down £200m takeover bid". Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2016.(subscription required)
  14. ^ Prior, David (10 October 2016). "Exclusive: UKFast to double size of Manchester HQ after sealing multi-million-pound deal". prolificnorth.co.uk. Prolific North. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  15. ^ Prior, David (21 December 2018). "Private equity firm acquires 30% stake in UKFast". prolificnorth.co.uk. Prolific North. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  16. ^ Corfield, Gareth (7 May 2020). "Keeping up with the Joneses: Cloud hosting biz UKFast's founders sell up". theregister.co.uk. The Register. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. ^ Wright, Tom (31 October 2019). "Lawrence Jones quits UKFast following sexual misconduct allegations". channelweb.co.uk. CRN. Retrieved 31 October 2019.(subscription required)
  18. ^ Corfield, Gareth. "Keeping up with the Joneses: Cloud hosting biz UKFast's founders sell up". theregister.co.uk. The Register. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  19. ^ "2005". The Internet Service Providers' Association. 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  20. ^ "2006". The Internet Service Providers' Association. 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  21. ^ "2007". The Internet Service Providers' Association. 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  22. ^ "2008". The Internet Service Providers' Association. 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  23. ^ "2009". The Internet Service Providers' Association. 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  24. ^ "2012 Winners and Runners-Up". DCS Awards. 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  25. ^ "2013 DatacenterDynamics EMEA Awards Winners". DatacenterDynamics.com. 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Winners of the National Business Awards 2013". National Business Awards UK. 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  27. ^ "UK Customer Satisfaction Awards - winners announced". Institute of Customer Service. 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  28. ^ "Great Place to Work: UKFast". Great Place to Work: Great Workplaces lists.
  29. ^ "Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For: UKFast". Best Companies.
  30. ^ O'Connell, Dominic (2014). "The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  31. ^ "2014 UK's Best Workplaces - Medium Category". Great Place to Work Institute. 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  32. ^ "The UK's Best 100 Companies, 2013: Best 100 Small Companies". Best Companies (via Sunday Times). 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  33. ^ "2013 UK's Best Workplaces - Medium Category". Great Place to Work Institute. 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  34. ^ "The UK's Best 100 Companies, 2012: Best 100 Small Companies". Best Companies (via Sunday Times). 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  35. ^ "2012 UK's Best Workplaces - Medium Category". Great Place to Work Institute. 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
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