A group of reputed tech investors, including Nigel Wray, Rob Giles and Jamie Brooke, has contributed £1.5 million to Bath-based IT services company, Cloud Direct.
This is the third piece of financial investment the company has secured this year.
2014 is the first year Cloud Direct has sought outside funding; the company’s total investment now stands at £2.74 million.
The private equity investment follows two initial game-changing sums of investment announced earlier this year, which are:
- A £240,000 award from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Going for Growth Fund
- £1 million investment from Santander’s Breakthrough programme
After 10 years of continuous profitability and organic self-funding, Brett Raynes, CEO of Cloud Direct, was responsible for securing all three areas of investment.
He said: “The confidence shown in Cloud Direct by such an impressive group of business stars is fantastic. We can now really go for it. We’re securing a second base in London, and looking to acquire another company to complement our packaged cloud services business.”
Investor Nigel Wray, who has extensive experience as an investor and director in both quoted and unquoted companies, currently serves as chairman of Saracens Rugby Club and director of the Global Sports Foundation.
He said: “When you invest in a company, you’re investing in its people. This year, Brett ran the Marathon des Sables – 156 miles across the shifting Sahara desert in what The Discovery Channel calls ‘the toughest footrace on earth’. If Brett’s focus and determination is anything to go by, we’ve made a very solid investment. I’m thrilled.”
Brett founded Cloud Direct in 2003, with a vision of replacing old-world IT with simpler, more scalable and secure packaged cloud services. He wanted to ensure that the smaller business could grow and thrive, by freeing them from the pain and cost of IT.
This was before the term ‘cloud’ was on the lips of most people. Today, Cloud Direct has helped 4,000 UK businesses migrate to the cloud.
Brett said: “I love it when a plan comes together. These past few months have been quite something. We’ve secured this great financing, were made Bath & Bristol Media’s ‘Employer of the Year’, and were shortlisted for the Investors in People ‘Employer of the Year’. Good times.”
Cloud Direct’s packaged cloud services provide the antidote to traditional IT. They free business to compete and grow, by driving better business continuity, productivity and infrastructure delivery.
