Gov windfall on way after JT makes £200m sale

Thursday 24 June 2021

The Government could be set for a significant boost after public-owned JT sold a majority stake in its 'Internet of Things' business for £200m in a deal tipped to provide new job opportunities locally.

Proceeds of the sale to family-backed private equity firm Perwyn, which specialises in rapidly growing technology companies, will be shared between JT and the Government. Exact details of the transaction are yet to be confirmed.

The new business will keep its headquarters in Jersey, which the Chief Minister said “will attract significant inward investment to the island, and it will also offer new employment opportunities for islanders.” 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is made up of all tech devices that use the internet and share data. JT created its division specialised in providing IoT connectivity in 2014 as part of an international expansion drive.

That business, which is today supported by a team of 70 staff and more than 500 roaming agreements with global operators, has doubled in size every three years and there are 10 million JT SIMS in use today. The local telecoms company said it will continue to benefit from this growth by retaining a minority stake in the company and supplying services to it.

“Together we have grown this business from inception into an entity now worthy of a sale at this scale. This sale not only shows the vast potential and value of Jersey’s digital sector, but also demonstrates that within Jersey we have both the human talent and the funding to enable and build globally successful digital businesses,” said JT Chair Phil Male.

Pictured: Phil Male, JT Chair.

Andrew Wynn, Founder and Managing Partner of Perwyn, added that the firm was “confident this relationship will bring benefits to Jersey, as well as augmenting the island’s future attractiveness as an incubator for leading-edge innovative businesses.” 

Senator Le Fondré added that he was “determined” that the sale - one of the biggest ever deals in the island’s digital sector – “will represent the start of an even more exciting time for Jersey’s digital sector.”