Powering Innovation in Telecomms and Marketing: Our Investment in Smart Numbers

Investment: Smart Numbers

Investment Type: MBO

Investment Amount: Undisclosed

Sector: Telecomms and Marketing

Businesses with a keen eye on the future needs of their customers, and an ability to meet those needs through innovation, will have an advantage over others in their market.

This is certainly the case in the communications sector, where the advance of technology had driven massive change. Take, for instance, the telephony system. The UK’s analogue phone network will very soon become obsolete – it is scheduled to be switched off at the end of 2025. And before that deadline transpires, businesses that haven’t already done so will transition from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Internet Protocol (IP)-based services.

This is just one of the market shifts anticipated by YFM Equity Partners latest investee business, Smart Numbers – a creative communications company providing a mix of telephone numbers and business services to connect enterprises with their customers.

As a leading provider of cloud-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services for small businesses, Smart Numbers is well placed to capitalise on the impending switch-off of analogue phone lines.

But it has a host of other capabilities and a long track record of innovating. The company was launched in 2005 by founder Scott Woolaway, to provide small businesses with trackable inbound phone numbers that could be placed in advertising. It has since evolved into a specialist web-based performance marketing business that combines website development and optimisation services with connectivity and telephony solutions to help boost lead generation for thousands of businesses across the UK.

Now poised for a new phase of growth, after a YFM-backed management buy-out, Smart Numbers is set to take full advantage of developing market conditions. We anticipate a bright future for the business, owing to a number of stand-out qualities.

Service diversity

Continuously adding to its trackable inbound phone number provision, Smart Numbers has evolved to offer a raft of complementary services. This includes call handling, website design, e-commerce solutions, search engine optimisation, PPC advertising and marketing collateral production.

With this extensive portfolio of products and services, Smart Numbers is able to provide increased convenience and efficiency to its customers, who can source a range of support from a single, consistent source. Its customer base is diverse too, and the business works with all types of start-ups, small, medium and large scale companies.

Strong leadership

With the support of YFM, incumbent Smart Numbers MD, Tim Hutchings has led a management buy-out that will enable the business to build upon its success to-date.

Spearheaded by a management team with experience and vision, Smart Numbers will continue to pursue a recruitment strategy of bringing in the right skills and people to position the business at the forefront of service provision. As in the past, it will also champion the early adoption of cutting-edge tech.

A reputation for excellence

Evidenced by its 5-star Google and Trustpilot reviews, Smart Numbers is a very well-regarded, specialist business that has dedicated itself to meeting the ever-evolving needs of its customers.

Leveraging its excellent track record, Smart Numbers is primed for a strong growth trajectory, as it helps more customers to future proof their business telecoms and reaches a wider swathe of companies with its raft of expert marketing services.