Investor BGF takes 25pc stake in MVNO Jola

The MVNO also appoints three new board directors

Growth capital investor BGF has announced it has taken a 25 per cent stake in MVNO Jola Cloud Solutions Ltd for £10.25m.

The MVNO is a global eSIM specialist and aims to provide IoT and mobile data solutions to managed service providers, internet providers, IT support companies, and telecom resellers.

BGF’s investment will support the continued growth of the channel partner base and the introduction of new products and capabilities to existing and new channel partners.

Jola co-founder and CEO Andrew Dickinson said: “BGF has a fantastic track record of investment overall and it was their references and reputation in the ICT space that made them a clear choice for Jola.

“With BGF’s support, we have an opportunity to build on what we have achieved over the last seven years, helping even more Jola partners to win large high margin IoT and M2M projects. BGF has a proven track record in acting as a catalyst for strategic, fast growth in ambitious businesses and their support so far has proved vital in helping us refine our expansion plans.

Following the investment, Jola has appointed three new board members to its team. Martin Harriman joins as non-executive director, Ronnie Smith as chief financial officer, and Seb Saywood from BGF joins as investor director.

Harriman has held roles as an executive at Telefonica, O2, Ericcson Marconi and Lightsquared Inc. He also holds several non-executive director posts within the IT sector.

Smith joined Jola in June 2020 and guided the company through a ‘competitive’ investment process and the financial transaction with BGF. Smith has previously held roles as CFO at Spiritel and co-founder CFO of Six Degrees Group.

Saywood joined BGF in January 2018 and has previously worked as a director in Foresight Group’s Private Equity Team. He also spent several years at Clearwater International as a director in corporate finance lead advisory.

Dickinson commented on the appointments: It’s rare to find individuals of such quality that are also down-to-earth and easy to get on with. We are all looking forward to working with Martin, Ronnie, and Seb.”