Zen Internet has announced turnover of £71 million for 2018, with its sights set on £150 million by 2023.
The Rochdale-based broadband and telecoms provider increased its turnover by 11 per cent from £64 million in 2017.
Zen, which was founded in 1995, has over 100,000 UK customers and employs around 500 people.
The company’s founder and chairman Richard Tang recently stepped down as CEO and has been replaced by Paul Stobart, former CEO for Northern Europe at enterprise software company Sage Group.
Tang said Stobart’s experience will help Zen to reach its £150 million target by 2023 and get to £250 million within the decade.
“Paul has the experience to take Zen on the next chapter of its growth,” he said. “He took Sage from a £300 million company to
£1.3 billion. His job will be to give us a better-known name to the public in the UK and build our brand.”
According to Tang, Zen will grow organically, but could also do this via acquisitions and more deals with wholesale and channel partners.
“This is where Paul can add to the business, as Sage has a very successful channel business and is aware about the possibilities there,” he said.
The big four of Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk typically dominate the UK telecoms sector, but Tang sees opportunities in the wholesale arena.
“There are a couple of dominant wholesale players in the market, and the choice is very limited,” he said.
“There is room in this market for a third player. We built Zen’s wholesale division and have had success in bringing in ISP and building broadband volume there.”
Zen Internet was named ‘Which? Recommended Broadband Provider’ for March and September.
