Sir Stelios makes an easy move into the channel
A firm going by the name Easy Networks was always bound to catch the attention of the man behind a number of businesses with the same branding
It might have been only a matter of time that a firm with the name of Easy Networks would get noticed by the man responsible for Easy Jet and Easy Gyms.
When the Portsmouth based firm was first told that Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou wanted a chat the management thought it might be a conversation involving a difficult discussion about the brand.
“Last year, I was invited to talks with Sir Stelios which I thought would be about intellectual property and use of the brand name,” said Richard Gwilliam, who founded the IT and telco focused firm back in 1995.
“However, after some discussion, we realised we both had the same business values and Sir Stelios invited us to join his ‘easy’ family of brands. I went into a meeting prepared for some tough negotiations and walked out with a new business partner," he added.
"For an experienced and successful entrepreneur like Sir Stelios to recognise what we have achieved over the last 24 years, our potential for the future and to make a personal investment in the business is a huge compliment," he said.
The result of the involvement of Sir Stelios has been to ramp up expansion plans with the firm opening its first London office next month.
The channel is no stranger to celebrity entrepreneurs having had Peter Jones, Noel Edmonds and Alan Sugar all participating in various parts of the industry at one time or another but this also marks the first time that the figure so closely associated with budget airline travel, hotels and car hire has ventured to go involved with the channel.
“We are very pleased to welcome easyNetworks into our easy family of brands. This is our first venture in an exciting business sector that offers excellent future growth opportunities," he said.
