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UKFast Sets Sights on DC Expansion amid Financial Growth

Manchester hosting and cloud specialist UKFast is ploughing major investment into creating a data centre complex after posting a five-fold surge in annual profits from £720,000 to £3.5m.

Turnover in the year to the 31 December 2011 rose from £12.1m to £16m, and is on course to exceed £20m for 2012. Ebitda this year is set to double from £5m in 2011 to between £10m and £11m.

The 170-strong Manchester business, founded and run by award-winning entrepreneur Lawrence Jones, set a focus on data centre development, launching its first in August 2011. Jones will officially open a further three sites in December, taking the firm’s investment in Trafford Park to more than £14 million.

Jones said: "It’s a really exciting time for UKFast. Financially we’re performing really well and operationally we're working on the new data centres 24 hours a day.

"Our investment and growth in this area will bring much-needed competition to the data centre market in Manchester. Our high standards, fair pricing structure and excellence of service will, I am sure, be welcomed by the business community."

Jones recently revealed that he has been offered a £25m facility from two lenders which he said would be used to fund further expansion in data centres, if a deal is agreed.

The launch of the data centres gives UKFast much better control of one of its biggest costs - server space. And with listed company Telecity buying up a number of smaller providers such as UKGrid, price competition in the region has been reduced.