iSmash secures investment to accelerate its UK nationwide expansion
Funding from Canada’s TELUS Ventures to support improved service channels and rollout of walk-in Service Centres across the UK
November 1, 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.”
About iSmash
Launched in 2013 by entrepreneur Julian Shovlin, iSmash is the UK’s leading high street tech repair specialist, experts in the express repair of smartphones, tablets and computers. Established to fill the gap in the market for a trusted device repair solution across the UK, iSmash has quickly expanded to 33 high street, train station, office and shopping centre locations across the UK – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow.
With plans to further expand nationwide throughout 2022 and beyond, iSmash is on a mission to provide a trusted and convenient solution to the nation’s device repair problem. With over 1 million customers to date, iSmash has established itself as the leader in the tech repair market in the UK.
About TELUS Ventures
As the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation, TELUS Ventures is one of Canada's most active corporate venture capital funds. TELUS Ventures invests globally in companies from Seed to Pre-IPO with a focus on innovative technologies such as AgTech, HealthTech, Connected Consumer, IoT, AI, and Security to actively drive new solutions across the TELUS ecosystem. Led by a team of experienced operators, investors and executives, the Ventures team is passionate about creating positive social impact through financial tools and has invested in more than 90 companies since inception. For more information, please visit: ventures.telus.com.
About Mobile Klinik
Mobile Klinik is Canada’s leading provider of smartphone and tablet repair, care, sales and services. Rapidly grown from one store in 2015 to over 100 stores across Canada today, Mobile Klinik repairs, buys, sells and connects more devices than any other service company. Certified by more device manufacturers than any other Canadian retailer – including Samsung, Apple, Google, LG and Huawei – Mobile Klinik is Canada’s most-trusted tech repair company. Mobile Klinik is a Toronto-based wholly-owned subsidiary of TELUS Corporation, a world leading Canadian communications technology company.
Media Contact
iSmash
Julian Shovlin
CEO
TELUS | Mobile Klinik
Jill Yetman
Sky
Jessica Bihari