Airangel – the Warrington-based company which is the leading provider of guest WiFi solutions to the hospitality sector – has secured a £1.7m funding package from Santander Corporate & Commercial to support its further growth.
Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services advised Santander on the deal.
Airangel, which has recently opened new office in Dubai, is expanding rapidly across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its software platform Genisys is now the number one solution in the hotel industry, with clients including IHG, Malmaison, Hotel du Vin, the Eden Project, Movenpick Hotels and Resorts.
Genisys is also widely used in private rental sector apartment buildings with large-scale deployments in several prestigious developments in London. The cloud-based platform enables guests to access fast, high quality WiFi connections, in addition to providing hoteliers and property owners with valuable data insights to enable them to engage more with customers and personalise the guest experience.
Airangel, which employs around 40 staff, was set up by Mike Gardner, the current Chairman and founder of Claremont Group Interiors, in 2002. It now manages WiFi connections to over 100,000 hotel rooms or apartments in 27 countries, and has around 18 million registered users.
The funding from Santander Growth Capital will enable Airangel to reach more overseas organisations, helping support the company’s ever growing demand. Santander Corporate & Commercial aims to help business owners prosper by providing tailored support at every stage of their development.
Dean Wilkinson, the company’s CEO, said: “In the digital age, connectivity is central to the guest experience and a key factor in people’s choice of hotel. Genisys offers a high-quality solution and not surprisingly, is in growing demand from leading hotel chains and venues around the world.”
Philip Mason, Director Santander Growth Capital and Richard Hennity, Relationship Director, Santander Corporate, arranged the transaction, and said: “Airangel is an established and popular brand worldwide, with a strong management team and clear aspirations to become even more successful. Airangel have developed strong relationships with many leading names in the market, and we’re delighted to be supporting the company in its next phase of growth.”
Ed Brentnall of Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services provided due diligence on behalf of Santander. Ed said: “Airangel is an exciting business with a first-class product and dynamic management team. We look forward to seeing the business continuing to grow into different territories and sectors.”
