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UKFast triumphs in business transfer window

Article date: Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:47:36 GMT

It's not only football that is attracting the big players to Manchester. As City and United claim the two top deals in the summer transfer window, Internet hosting provider UKFast has done a deal to swipe main competitor Rackspace's Head of Sales from under their noses.

Andrew Gibbens was Rackspace's 60th employee in the UK. Over three years he was instrumental in taking the US company's European arm from £5m to a run rate of £60m. "Gibbs" joins UKFast as their 65th team member and as the Manchester-based firm is on target for £7m in 2008, the parallels are obvious.

MD Lawrence Jones believes his transfer is just as significant as City's purchase of Robinho or United's acquisition of Berbatov from Tottenham. "We have set our sights on £18m turnover in 2009 and signing a key team player who has achieved this already with one of the industry heavyweights gives us the firm belief that we will meet our target."

Gibbens was attracted to the energy and passion at the privately owned UKFast. He initially instigated the contact with Lawrence Jones to discuss the move up North. "UKFast has good solid British values and strong ethics surrounding service and quality. I'm looking forward to playing my part in taking us to the top."

US owned Rackspace recently floated on the New York Stock Exchange and within a month the share price dropped by 19%. Analysts expected the stock to initially float at $12-$16 a share. However, the IPO price was set at $12.50 and now stands at $11.35 representing testing times ahead for the hosting provider.

Back in this country, UKFast is fortunate to have a business transfer window that isn't just open twice a year. While other businesses are holding off on recruitment, UKFast is putting the finishing touches to two more senior appointments that will further strengthen the growing ISP.

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