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UK2 Group is a global provider of Internet services based in the United Kingdom, with data centers in the UK and US. Its range of services includes web hosting, virtual private servers, domain name registration and management, dedicated servers, web design and a content delivery network. The group provides services to individuals, small businesses, blue-chip enterprises and resellers through a family of brands it has variously created and acquired, among them UK2.net, Resell.biz, Midphase, WestHost, VI.Net, VPS.net and 100Tb. == History == 1998-2010 The group’s first brand, UK2.Net, was launched in the UK by Danish entrepreneur Bo Bendtsen in October 1998 as a low-cost, no-frills provider of Internet domain names. By 2000 it had become the UK’s largest web hosting company, with an estimated 435,000 customers. Bendtsen retired from the company in 2002 but maintained a controlling stake. Following his departure, the company struggled to maintain its market position under chief executive Erik Anderson. Over the next three years, its customer base shrunk by around 50%. Aware it needed to pursue an aggressive turnaround strategy in order to avoid collapse, in 2006 Anderson stepped down and the group appointed Ditlev Bredahl (another Dane) as chief executive. Bredahl spent the next three years growing the business and its range of services through a series of strategic acquisitions both within and outside the UK (see Brands and acquisitions). By 2009 the group had successfully rebuilt its market reputation and returned to financial health. Staff numbers had grown from 30 to more than 200. In February of that year, it was ranked the second-most reliable hosting company in the world by hosting market analyst Netcraft. UK2 Group continued to tighten operations in the wake of the Great Recession and in May 2009 the company closed its overseas call centres, eliminating around 40 jobs in India and 35 in the Ukraine in favour of a smaller support team. At the same time the group streamlined its executive management team. 2011–Present In April 2011, Lloyd’s Development Capital (LDC), a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group acquired a majority stake in UK2 Group for £47 million (about US$77 million) as part of a management buyout. At this time Bredahl departed to become CEO of another LDC-backed business, OnApp. Phil Male, previously chief strategy officer at Cable and Wireless, joined as the new CEO. Male has continued to grow the group, expanding into new markets such as Latin America and introducing a series of new brands and services in a bid to further capitalise on the growing demand for hosting and cloud computing services among business and individuals. By 2011, the group was ranked 45 on the list of 100 fastest-growing private technology companies in Britain, and in 2012, number 53. As of 2015, the group is planning to further expand its global data center capacity and consolidate its brands. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「UK2 Group」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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