Funding from Canada’s TELUS Ventures to support improved service channels and rollout of walk-in Service Centres across the UK
2 November 2021, London – Leading UK tech repairs specialist iSmash today announced it has finalised a new investment round to accelerate its nationwide expansion across the UK. The investment, led by TELUS Ventures, the strategic investment arm of world-leading Canadian communications technology company, TELUS Corporation, will be used to develop iSmash’s service channels in order to provide its customers maximum convenience, including the nationwide rollout of walk-in Service Centres. With TELUS’ ownership of Mobile Klinik, Canada’s leading tech repair provider in 2020, iSmash and Mobile Klinik will collaborate on opportunities to improve the customer experience, develop innovative propositions, and help both businesses grow. This announcement follows recent investments from Sky, which fuelled the opening of five new service centres in 2020, co-located within Sky shops, including Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow.
Founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Julian Shovlin, iSmash specialises in express repairs of smartphones, tablets, computers – now with 33 Service Centres across the UK, in locations including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow. iSmash has recently joined Apple’s independent repair provider program, providing it access to Apple training programs and direct supply of genuine spare parts, and has been named the UK’s Best Repair Service at Tech Radar’s Mobile Industry Awards 2021.
The investment will accelerate iSmash’s nationwide expansion, with 20 new Service Centres in 2022 – allowing more customers than ever to benefit from iSmash’s professional tech repair service. The investment will also be used to further develop iSmash’s direct channels and enhance the existing business, including the opening of a new distribution facility and Central Service Centre, creating 75 new jobs nationwide.
Julian Shovlin, iSmash Founder & Managing Director, said: “We’re incredibly pleased with this new investment which provides growth capital to accelerate our expansion. The opportunity to collaborate closely with Mobile Klinik, alongside our existing partner Sky, will help us cement our position as the leading solution to your everyday tech problems, be that through repairing, replacing or protecting devices.”
Mario Mele, TELUS Ventures Vice President of Corporate Strategy, said: “We look for opportunities to back companies and management teams that bring new value to the telecom ecosystem – both in Canada and internationally. Recognising the critical role of the device-repair experience in overall customer satisfaction and with the significant success since the acquisition of Mobile Klinik in 2020, iSmash presents us with an excellent value-creation opportunity allowing us to improve the customer experience and move into the international tech repair space.”
Tim McGuire, Mobile Klinik Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Mobile Klinik management team has long admired iSmash’s innovative approach to tech repair in the UK market – we are delighted at the opportunity to work with the iSmash team to identify opportunities to jointly share best practices, test and expand new opportunities, and capture synergies across both businesses to fuel even faster growth in both the UK and Canada.”