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Tech

Wi-Fi firm backed by former Tesco CEO and founded by Secret Millionaire star secures over 拢10m

Purple has more than 1,000 customers including McDonald's, Avanti West Coast, Harrods, the NHS and Pizza Express

Purple was set up more than 10 years ago(Image: Photo/thinkstockphotos)

A company founded by a businessman who has appeared on The Secret Millionaire and Dragons Den, and which is backed by a former CEO of Tesco, has secured a £10.5m investment from BGF.

Purple was set up in 2012 by Gavin Wheeldon after he became frustrated with poor guest Wi-Fi connections. The business sold its broadband division for £800,000 a year later while it secured a £5m investment from Sir Terry Leahy, Bill Currie, Iain MacDonald, Bob Willett, and Juno Capital in 2015.

Mr Wheeldon made his fortune after selling his previous business, Applied Language Solutions, to Capita Headquartered in Manchester, Purple has more than 1,000 customers including McDonald's, Avanti West Coast, Harrods, the NHS and Pizza Express.

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Mr Wheeldon, who serves as the company's CEO, said: "Customer experience has become a key driver across a multitude of sectors in recent years which, in turn, has sparked a wave of digitalisation in order to meet the needs and expectations of end users. The rise in indoor location services has rocketed, providing us with the perfect platform to grow our core product offerings. In order to realise our future ambitions, we wanted to partner with a minority investor that was willing to join us on our growth journey by taking a long-term approach to their investment. In BGF, we have found that partner. "

Gavin Wheeldon, Purple Wifi CEO(Image: Manchester Evening News)

The deal was led by Pinesh Mehta and Courtney Walker, investors in BGF's Manchester team. Pinesh Mehta added: "Purple is a highly impressive and fast-growth business that has tapped into a market that is ripe for growth – both domestically and internationally.

"The team's appetite for continuous product development perfectly positions them to capitalise on the rise in demand for consumer data and insights, with the entire indoor location services market expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. We're delighted to be working alongside a hugely ambitious and talented team, helping them to reach their full potential in what is a dynamic and innovative marketplace."