Young entrepreneurs use £350k investment to rattle telecoms market

Two young entrepreneurs, who met at University, are hoping to launch their business in the premier league of UK telecoms companies, following an investment from Finance Yorkshire.

Oliver Bryssau and Henri Wust launched Origin Broadband in 2011 during their final year at the University of Hull after Oliver became frustrated with the “rubbish” network access he received from his supplier.

Origin, based in Doncaster, now supplies phone and broadband services to businesses and homes across the UK. Customers include the NHS, local authorities and Doncaster Racecourse.

The business’ turnover is forecast to grow to more than £3m this year.

Finance Yorkshire has invested £350k of development capital from its Equity Linked Fund in Origin Broadband, alongside extended facilities from HSBC and additional support from Finance for Enterprise.

Oliver said: “We started in 2011 with no staff. Now we have 40 and that figure will rise to 85 by the end of this year. We need to grow as quickly as possible. We are projected to become a £100m turnover business within the next five years.”

The funding package will provide working capital to help Origin Broadband add more employees to its sales team and execute its B2B marketing plan.

Origin is also a registered supplier for the government’s broadband Connection Vouchers scheme, which provides SME companies with a voucher worth up to £3k for faster, better broadband.

Oliver said: “We have been one of the top suppliers of Connection Vouchers since the scheme was launched and, before it runs out we want to let every company know how they can access this money to boost their connectivity.

“Our team has been phenomenal. We’ve worked very hard to ensure we hire the best people, and our performance as the top supplier for Connection Vouchers in South Yorkshire demonstrates the dedication and hard work of our people. It will be a priority for me to continue to find the best people in the industry as we scale up our operation”.

Paul Gower, Finance Yorkshire investment director, added: “Oliver and Henri have quickly developed Origin Broadband to a point where it is already one of the largest network suppliers in the region. We see tremendous potential in this business and look forward to supporting them as they add more customers and realise economies of scale.”

Finance Yorkshire’s investments to date have created and safeguarded 10,196 jobs across Yorkshire and the Humber, increased turnover by £309 million and generated private sector leverage of £179 million.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

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