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 Company: TelecityRedbus, London, UK
Entry Submitted by: Nelson Bostock Communications
Company Description: TelecityRedbus is a leading data centre and managed services company, operating one of the largest networks of carrier-diverse data centre facilities in Europe. TelecityRedbus offers content rich digital businesses, enterprises, service providers and the public sector with flexible data centre and IT infrastructure hosting solutions.
Nomination Category: Company & Office Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best New Company
Nomination Title: TelecityRedbus Group
1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
TelecityRedbus was formed in November 2005 after Mike Tobin led the merger of
TeleCity and Redbus Interhouse plc.
In the space of a year, the new group has undergone a transformation from a
provider of basic co-location services (for major carriers and ISPs) to a
leading provider of Internet infrastructure and managed services for the
enterprise.
At the start of 2006, the newly formed company, with its vastly increased data
network across Europe, was well placed to drive the European hosting market.
Since the dotcom crash and related data centre overbuild of the late 1990s,
prices have remained low in the industry. But the growth in IP applications
since 2000 has led to a dramatic upsurge in demand for data centre services.
TelecityRedbus's first move of 2006 was to challenge the market’s expectation
on pricing. It became the first company to raise prices in five years. All its
competitors were quick to follow suit. TelecityRedbus is widely credited with
having stabilized the IT infrastructure and hosting market in Europe as a
whole, re-establishing the commercial viability of the industry.
The company’s second major challenge for 2006 was to move up the value chain
to achieve faster growth. Perceived by the industry as a provider of basic
hosting services for major carriers and ISPs it needed to scale up and offer
higher-end services in order to appeal to a wider range of customers – and to
take advantage of the Europe’s rapidly growing market for managed services
(i.e. hosting, data centres, outsourced network management). This market is
forecast to triple in value by 2011 to €6.2 billion (according to a
report ‘Managed Services Europe’, Broadgroup, March 2006).
To this end, in September 2006 TelecityRedbus completed the £33m acquisition
of Globix UK. Globix specialises in providing fully managed Web infrastructure
services for major online brands such as ebookers, the CarphoneWarehouse and
888.com. Critically for TelecityRedbus, over 60% of Globix’s revenue is
derived from services-related (i.e. non-colocation) business.
The company was quick to apply the Globix skill set across TelecityRedbus,
enabling the company to offer new enterprise focused services across Europe.
Acquiring Globix also gave TelecityRedbus one of the most innovative
technologies on the market; high-density hosting. In order to capitalize on
the demand for this new technology, TelecityRedbus invested approximately €20
million in adding 34,000 sq ft of advanced high-density and managed hosting
space in key European data centre facilities in London, Paris and Amsterdam.
The year in numbers
In the space of a year, TelecityRedbus has:
• Improved turnover from £21m million in 2005 to £79.9* million for 2006
• Achieved a 200% increase in EBITDA performance from a £4.8 million
profit in 2005 to a £15.4* million profit in 2006
• Created a premium brand in the European hosting and IT services
market, with data centres across Europe, a significantly enhanced service
portfolio, over 2000 customers, 300 employees.
*All 2006 figures are pro forma, unaudited figures combined for Telecity Group
plc, Redbus Interhouse plc and Globix UK. 2005 figures are audited figures for
Redbus Interhouse plc.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
The Whir news story about formation of TelecityRedbus
http://www.thewhir.com/features/Shih_Web_Host_TeleCity_Redbus_Buy.cfm
Datacentres.com press
http://www.datacentres.com/press/viewpress.asp?url=default.asp&prid=118
TelecityRedbus leading consolidation in the European hosting market
http://www.thewhir.com/features/082506_TeleCityRedbus_adds_Through_Acquisition.cfm
CNBC European Business December 2006 profiles TelecityRedbus’s CEO
http://cnbceb.com/2006/12/05/cover-story-2/
Best Pan-European Datacentre Award
http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=30435&hilite=
Feature on datacentres, focusing on Globix
http://www.cbronline.com/article_cbr.asp?guid=0AE3A09C-EAF3-4D55-9836-7065591FB461
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
Born and raised in Bermondsey, at the age of 21 Mike Tobin became MD of
Groupil Computer Ltd where he was responsible for generating $12m turnover.
From there Tobin went on to transform ICL’s Operational Services Division in
Denmark into an outsourcing specialist before moving to Fujitsu to turn around
its eBusiness operation. Tobin also held senior positions at Tricord Systems
Europe and ICG before joining Redbus Interhouse in 2002. He was made CEO in
2003 and returned the company to profit within two years.
In November 2005 Tobin engineered a reverse takeover of TeleCity to create
TelecityRedbus.
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