Altnet Business Broadband ISP Metronet UK Rebrands to M24Seven

The alternative hybrid fibre optic and wireless data network ISP Metronet UK, which serves several major urban areas around the United Kingdom, has re-branded to M24Seven after last year’s £47.5m acquisition of rival provider M247. Ex-Sky man Mike Darcey has also become their new Chairman.

The provider, which is being backed by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge (they first invested in the ISP during June 2014 as part of a £45m secondary buyout), has recently been on somewhat of an acquisition spree and earlier this year gobbled London fibre provider Venus Business Communications (here).

The rebranded provider has also appointed a new Chairman in the shape of Mike Darcey, who is perhaps best known for spending around 15 years as both Sky’s Head of Strategy and its COO. During those years Darcey was responsible for all of Sky’s B2B lines of business and he was involved in the acquisition of Easynet in 2005, which led to the subsequent launch of the Sky Broadband business.

Mike Darcey, Chairman of M24Seven, said:

“I am very excited to be joining M24Seven at what is an important period in its development. In the UK, M24Seven has a proprietary wireless network and access to local loop unbundled fibre, particularly in London. This is a unique and differentiated proposition in a crowded market, which is supported by a full suite of business-critical solutions.

Globally, M24Seven has an incredibly powerful IXP [Internet Exchange Point] network across 16 cities which is only just beginning to be exploited. With so much opportunity, I am looking forward to working with the team to shape the strategy and see what we can achieve together.”

Lee Perkins, CEO of M24Seven, said:

“Mike joins the team at an integral point where we bring so much hard work to life, especially our brand. At M24Seven, we believe that that well-connected businesses are more productive and our new brand reflects our ability to support our customers around the clock, enabling them to get more done, 24-seven.”

As a result of all this M24Seven now claims to serve some 34,000+ customers and operate over 400 Points of Presence (PoPs), while they also delivered 33% revenue growth in 2016 (£50m annual turnover) and are home to a total of roughly 230 staff.