Ironbridge takes stake in start-up ISG Management

A start-up utilities provider expected to bring in about $150 million in its first year of operation has nabbed Ironbridge Capital as a minority shareholder, hot on the heels of a $100-million-a-year contract with Telstra.

A spokesperson for Infrastructure Services Group Management told SmartCompany this morning the Ironbridge investment is designed to give the company a “financial structure to respond to current business needs and growth opportunities”.

The company is growing at a fast rate, with first-year revenue tipped to reach up to $150 million.

She declined to name how much Ironbridge has paid for its stake in the business, and what percentage it now has. The company says it is not expecting Ironbridge to increase its stake.

The Melbourne-based ISGM was founded last year by Adrian Field, Joe Caporale, Bob de Boer and Richard Bale with an initial $1 million investment before raising capital. All except Bale are directors.

Earlier this month, it signed its first major deal following its launch – a contract with Telstra, which will see ISGM take over the management of all subcontractor customer installations and maintenance for copper services including telephony and broadband between Telstra exchange and customer premises.

Caporale tells StartupSmart: “We were fortunate in that we already had a relationship with Ironbridge, so there was trust there over our position.”

“It’s certainly hard to get money anywhere these days, but there is great opportunities in sectors that are changing, like ours is at the moment.”

“Our focus at the moment is Telstra, but I think we will be able to grow reasonably rapidly.”

Field said in a statement that “the fact that an investor of Ironbridge’s calibre recognises ISGM’s strengths and opportunities is very self-assuring” and is also a “fantastic endorsement for the founders of ISGM and our impressive management team”.

“Nothing expresses confidence in a company’s future better than private investment,” Field said.

Field added that although ISGM is focusing on its Telstra contract at the moment, the support of Ironbridge’s $1.5 billion balance sheet will help it “look forward to identifying and capturing future growth opportunities”.