When Nice Network was acquired by Onecom in 2020, three former staff members joined forces to set up their own telecoms business.
Terry Lewis, Gary Luther and Mike Mead founded LM Global Telecoms in 2021. Now, three years on, they’re employing 35 staff, on a turnover in excess of £3m.
To keep the three theme going, the Newcastle-headquartered firm is also opening its third office, at Waterfront House in Sunderland, to house 18 employees. More poignant for the founders, because Sunderland used to be the home of Nice Network’s only regional office.
“I know it’s cliché, but it’s been a real rollercoaster ride for everyone associated with the company since we set up,” explained Terry Lewis, co-founder and Managing Director.
“We always knew that we had the skills and experience between us to go it alone and to have a real good go at setting up on our own, but never in a million years would we have expected it to grow at the pace it has.
“We’re all from the North East and so to be able to sit here now, with three offices in each of its three cities and serving clients across the globe, fills us with great pride and gives us real confidence for the future.”
LM Global Telecoms provides mobile, wi-fi and fixed-line telecoms solutions to businesses and charities around the world.
“We knew when we set up that we would be operating in a really competitive market, so we made a commitment from day-one to do things differently,” explained Luther.
“Whereas the more traditional providers are increasingly centralising their operations and doing everything digitally, we made a commitment from day one to offer a people-first service which means there is almost always someone available for our clients to speak to and we have clear and open channels of communication, which really seems to be setting us apart.
“As a small business, we’ve also been able to create bespoke, flexible plans for our clients by combining the best offers from multiple networks and providers, which has made us a lot more competitive, especially in the current economic climate. It’s been a real driver in our growth.”
The company is forecasting turnover to be in excess of £5m for the 2024/25 financial year.
“We’ve been really fortunate that our commitment to establishing and retaining physical offices in the region, as well as offering a multitude of benefits such as giving our staff every other Friday off work, has helped us attract some really talented and experienced people who have been the real driving force behind our success so far,” said Mead.
“Having grown year-on-year, our plan is to now to utilise their expertise to launch a series of new products and services for our clients, as well as creating more jobs to help more people get into the industry, which is something the three of us are incredibly passionate about.
“We all started our careers as young people in the industry here in the North East, so to be able to help the next generation follow in our footsteps by working in such an exciting sector is something we’re really keen to ensure as we continue growing.”
