UKCloud acquired by Hadston 2 investment group

British multi-cloud specialist UKCloud has been acquired by the Hadston 2 investment group for an undisclosed fee.

The deal is still subject to government approval under the National Security Investment Act, but it will potentially boost employment in the country's cloud sector by expanding UKCloud's portfolio of services.

Hadston 2 is a newly created entity that is led by entrepreneur Jeff Thomas, who is also UKCloud's chairman. The company's mission statement is to create a portfolio of enterprises centred around the sustainable and ethical use of data and digital infrastructure, which it aims to facilitate through "acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic partnerships".

The organisation is backed by a number of investment groups, including Cisco partner Digital Alpha, which is an investor that focuses on digital infrastructure and the digital economy. Digital Alpha's areas of interest also include smart cities, next-generation broadband networks, and enterprise data management and communication services.

Vasa Babic, a Digital Alpha partner, said the group would look to support Hadston 2's vision for growing UKCloud so that it could meet customer demand for "secure, sovereign data management and sustainable digital transformation". With funding from Hadston 2, UKCloud will aim to assemble a portfolio of innovative businesses, all of which will promote ethical and sustainable use of data and drive positive change in the UK. However, the overarching goal is to provide more high skilled, high wage jobs for the benefit of the UK's economy.

"UKCloud has long been a market leader in the delivery of sovereign, secure cloud technologies to public sector organisations spanning government, health and defence - and today marks the beginning of a new, ambitious strategic vision," Thomas said.

"Organisations and governments increasingly share a belief in these crucial outcomes and I am deeply excited to unveil more information about our growth plans and new direction in the very near future."