Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Blog on the future of mobile messaging

http://www.mobilemessaging2.com/

YFM, investor in 2sms, is acquired by the GLE Group.

YFM Press release

Sale creates powerful national force for UK's growing businesses

YFM Group has been acquired by GLE Group, a leading provider of investment and advisory services to small and growing businesses. YFM’s Head Office in Leeds will remain the focus of YFM Group’s activities and the YFM brand will be retained. The combined businesses will now employ over 320 highly qualified staff in the UK and on the Continent, and take funds under management to £335 million. “The union with GLE will enable the continued activity of both investment arms, YFM Venture Finance and YFM Private Equity, in addressing the perceived gap in the market for risk capital. “ said Peter Garnham, Managing Director of YFM Venture Finance.

GLE currently operates a range of businesses, including property investment and development, business finance, business development and an economic development consultancy.
YFM Business Development, which manages the Manufacturing Advisory Service in the Yorkshire & Humber region, will work closely with the business development team at GLE.
“The joining of GLE and YFM will open up new opportunities for both businesses“, said Martin Large, Chief Executive, GLE. “Both companies share a similar history and a passion for innovative solutions for small businesses. The union will further build on the national presence and strong reputation of YFM. I very much look forward to a very positive future for GLE and YFM”. “Joining forces makes logical sense for YFM employees, clients, partners and the wider business community. YFM’s businesses fit very well alongside GLE’s Growth Capital and Business Development activities and together both Groups will be significantly stronger.” said David Hall, Managing Director of YFM Private Equity.

About GLE Group
GLE, a leading economic development company delivering investment, products and services to promote small business growth, is headquartered in London with satellite offices spanning the South East, Brussels, and Prague. A trusted partner in small business support and equity finance, GLE is renowned for innovation and commitment to developing products, investment and services to maximise the potential of individuals, small enterprises and growing businesses. By bringing together commercial know-how in economic development, finance and
regeneration GLE delivers key public policy objectives. For more information, visit http://www.gle.co.uk/

About YFM Group
From ten regional offices the YFM Group, through its FSA registered arms YFM Venture Finance and YFM Private Equity, manage circ £300 million of funds for both institutional and retail clients. Investors include UK clearing banks, pension funds, private individuals, large corporates, the European Investment Fund and local, national and European governments combined with the Regional Development Agencies. Our team of over 40 investment managers specialise in making investments with equity of up to £8 million, although the leveraging effect of venture capital means that the total value of the deal can be much larger. YFM Group are the small business investment specialists and are the UK’s most active investor in SMEs (as
verified by Venture Index), and have been successfully backing businesses since 1982.
In the 12 months to end of March 2008 YFM Group invested £47 million in deals worth over £220 million in 91 companies across the UK.

2sms service updates





2sms is now publishing it's serivce updates in a new section of its support forum.
http://www.2sms.com/Forum/messages.aspx?ForumID=12

This information is also supplied in RSS format. Subscribe to http://www.2sms.com/Forum/rssfeed.aspx?id=12&Task=ForumRSS

Auto charging


In response to customer requests, 2sms is now able to offer auto charging. Once setup, a customer can arrange for 2sms to issue an auto-invoice when their account balance gets low. This process is automatic. This new service provides reassurance to a customer that they will never run out of messages in time of need.

The auto charging service is provided at no extra cost, and may be subject to a credit check.