01 / 04
01
Buy
We back founders and acquire businesses with untapped commercial potential, from a single van in Essex to a national competitor.
25+ acquisitions completed across the Onecom platform alone.
50.8826° N · 1.2479° W
Group revenues · c.£350m
HQ · Whiteley, UK
Technology · Delhi, India
Global partner network
Group revenues · c.£350m
HQ · Whiteley, UK
Technology · Delhi, India
Global partner network
Private investment · Est. 1987
Specialists in success.
Ridown is a £350m-revenue private investment group that buys, builds and grows brands into market leaders. Founded by telecoms entrepreneurs Darren Ridge and Aaron Brown, with more than five decades of combined experience behind every investment.
Our portfolio
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The group
For almost four decades, Ridown's founders have bought, built and grown brands, from a single phone shop on the Solent to the UK's largest independent business communications provider. Today, the group invests across communications, technology, AI, consumer, media and property.
The group at a glance
FY 2026 · Including Onecom
£350m
Annual group revenues across communications, technology, consumer, media and property. Built from one shop in 1987.
1100+
People across the group, in the UK and India
65k+
Business customers served by Onecom
25+
Acquisitions completed on the Onecom platform
17
Brands built, backed or realised
16
Straight years as Vodafone Strategic Partner of the Year
£600m
Largest partner deal in Vodafone's history, signed 2019
£100m
Institutional funding secured from LDC and Ares
39
Years of buying, building and growing brands
Our approach
Buy.
Buy.
Build.
Grow.
A private investor with an operator's instincts. We don't just write cheques; we roll up our sleeves.
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02
Build
Capital is the start, not the strategy. We put operators alongside management: brand, digital, systems, people and partnerships with the world's biggest technology names.
Onecom: Vodafone Strategic Partner of the Year, sixteen years running.
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03
Grow
Organic growth and strategic acquisition, running at the same time. We compound market share, customers and capability until the business leads its category.
From one store in 1987 to a c.£220m-revenue, 900-person communications group.
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Realise
When the time is right, we deliver value to everyone who helped build it, through trade sales, partnerships or new investment, and reinvest in what comes next.
WeFix: backed at one van, sold to a SoftBank-owned global group. Hosted: founded by Ridown, sold into Onecom.
Five platforms
One group. Every sector we know.
Each platform pairs a scaled anchor business with younger brands we're building around it, sharing capital, talent, technology and customers across the group.
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2
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5
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05
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Communications
Anchored by Onecom: c.£220m revenue, 900+ people and Vodafone's partner of the year, sixteen years running.
Technology & AI
Cyber security, AI software and managed technology, including the engine behind CyberProtect by Vodafone Business.
Consumer & Circular
Device recycling and refurbished tech at national scale. £75m paid to customers and counting.
Media & Entertainment
Live music and streaming platforms connecting fans, artists and comedians.
Property
Commercial and premium residential property across the South of England. £50m of schemes completed.
Portfolio
All 17 brands
Brands we've built.
01
Onecom
Communications
The UK's largest independent business communications provider.
02
Onestream
Communications
Connectivity for homes and businesses, with service that sets the standard.
03
WeBuyAnyPhone.com
Consumer & Circular
Tech recycling with market-leading value.
04
PhonesDirect.com
Consumer & Circular
New and refurbished technology, guaranteed.
05
CyberSentry
Technology & AI
Digital defence, now powering CyberProtect by Vodafone Business.
06
OneHive
Technology & AI
Smarter tools for modern teams.
07
Echo
Technology & AI
The UK's first AI meeting notetaker.
08
InterviewBoss.ai
Technology & AI
AI-driven interview preparation.
Communications
The UK's largest independent business communications provider.
02
Onestream
Communications
Connectivity for homes and businesses, with service that sets the standard.
03
WeBuyAnyPhone.com
Consumer & Circular
Tech recycling with market-leading value.
04
PhonesDirect.com
Consumer & Circular
New and refurbished technology, guaranteed.
05
CyberSentry
Technology & AI
Digital defence, now powering CyberProtect by Vodafone Business.
06
OneHive
Technology & AI
Smarter tools for modern teams.
07
Echo
Technology & AI
The UK's first AI meeting notetaker.
08
InterviewBoss.ai
Technology & AI
AI-driven interview preparation.
Newsroom
All news
Latest from the group.
Portfolio16 Oct 2026
Onecom becomes operating partner behind Everton Mobile
Onecom supplies the network access, provisioning and back-office platform for Everton Mobile, a club-branded SIM-only service launched by Sport Telecoms. Fans can choose O2 or Vodafone coverage, with plans from £15 a month.
Mobile NewsPortfolio12 Oct 2026
Vodafone
CyberSentry technology powers CyberProtect by Vodafone Business
Vodafone Business launched CyberProtect for its UK channel partners during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The service combines dark web monitoring of exposed credentials and corporate data with ID Guard, which detects lookalike domains, spoofed emails and brand impersonation. It is built on Ridown portfolio company CyberSentry's technology and brought to market with Onecom.
Vodafone UKAwards19 May 2026
16 years
Onecom wins Vodafone Strategic Partner of the Year for a 16th straight year
Onecom collected three Vodafone Partner Awards: Strategic Partner of the Year (16th consecutive year), Innovation Partner of the Year for its CyberProtect service, and Deal of the Year for a 4,000-subscription contract. CEO Aaron Brown said the company has won the strategic award every year since it was introduced.
African Wireless Communications