Pastel

What Pastel does

Pastel is a privately held UK telecommunications and IT services provider founded in 2013/2014 and headquartered in Newcastle-under-Lyme, with additional offices in Southampton and Truro. The company serves primarily UK small and medium enterprises, with a visible concentration in the healthcare and care sector (hospices, carer charities, home-care providers) and a long tail across financial services, construction, engineering, and wholesale. The product portfolio is built as a bundled suite: three voice tiers (Hosted Voice on the Cisco Broadworks/Webex platform, Microsoft Teams Phone, and PhoneLine+, a VoIP landline replacement positioned for the January 2027 PSTN switch-off), business connectivity (FTTP, FTTC, SoGEA, leased lines, WAN) delivered through BT Openreach, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, and Gamma partnerships, business mobile (EE, O2, Vodafone) with Mobile Device Management, a UK-based 24/7 managed IT service covering Microsoft 365, Azure, cybersecurity, and disaster recovery, and a commission-based Energy Procurement line through a Fidelity Energy partnership.

The operating model is hybrid GTM: a direct sales team led by Sales Director Ollie Moseley provides consultative selling with account managers and HubSpot-driven meeting scheduling, while a no-minimum channel Partner Program allows resellers (e.g., The Nebula Group, Hobb) to offer the full portfolio, with Pastel handling billing, provisioning, and support. Revenue is predominantly subscription recurring across hosted voice, connectivity, mobile contracts, and managed IT monthly fees, with commission economics on the energy line. Differentiation is asserted on service quality and customer-first culture rather than on proprietary technology: Pastel explicitly positions against being "signed and sidelined," emphasizing UK-based support, consolidated billing, and long-term relationships. The group operates through Pastel Holdings Limited with three wholly-owned operating subsidiaries (Pastel Solutions, Pastel Group, Pastel Wholesale) and is entirely founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investment.

Name

Pastel

Legal name

Pastel Holdings Limited

Website

https://pastelgroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pastel is a UK-based telecommunications and IT services provider offering hosted voice, business connectivity, mobile, managed IT, and energy procurement to small and medium enterprises, with a notable focus on the healthcare and care sector. It sells through a direct sales team and a no-minimum channel partner program, operating from offices in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Southampton, and Truro.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Under Lyme

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Hosted Voice/Telephony Services: Monthly subscription fees for cloud-hosted phone systems including hosted voice, Teams Phone, and PhoneLine+ services. Includes line rental, feature access, and support.
2. Connectivity Services: Business broadband, leased lines, and WAN services. Revenue from monthly connectivity fees and installation charges.
3. Mobile Services: Business mobile contracts with voice and data plans, handset sales, and associated management fees.
4. IT Managed Services: Round-the-clock UK-based IT support, Microsoft 365, Azure, email protection, managed firewall, disaster recovery, and cybersecurity services for predictable monthly costs.
5. Energy Procurement: Commission-based revenue from energy supplier partnerships, bill validation services, and account management fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pastel is a UK business communications and IT services provider that bundles hosted voice (with Cisco Webex), Microsoft Teams Phone, VoIP landline replacement, business broadband and leased lines, business mobile with MDM, managed IT support, and energy procurement into a single portfolio for SMEs. Services are delivered under monthly subscription contracts, supported by UK-based 24/7 support and a self-service customer portal, with a parallel channel partner program for resellers.

Product overview

Pastel is a UK-based telecommunications and IT services provider offering a unified portfolio of voice, connectivity, mobile, IT, and energy services primarily to SMEs. The product portfolio consists of three core voice solutions — Hosted Voice (enriched with Cisco Webex), Microsoft Teams Phone, and PhoneLine+ (VoIP landline replacement) — supported by broadband/leased line connectivity, business mobile with MDM, managed IT, energy procurement, and a channel partner resell program. All services are backed by UK-based support with a customer portal for billing and usage management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hosted Voice Cloud-hosted unified communications service for UK businesses that integrates calling, messaging and meetings through Cisco Webex on the Cisco BroadWorks platform with UK-based BT hosting.
• Microsoft Teams Phone Voice service that integrates natively into the Microsoft Teams interface, allowing businesses already using Microsoft 365 to add telephony on top of existing licences without additional hardware.
• PhoneLine+ Cost-effective VoIP landline replacement service for UK businesses, loadable on laptops, tablets and mobile devices, with features including voicemail, call divert, hold, transfer and call analytics, designed to prepare customers for the January 2027 PSTN switch-off.
• Business Connectivity / Broadband Business data connectivity service delivering FTTP, FTTC, SoGEA broadband, dedicated leased lines and WAN solutions for UK organisations, aggregating BT Openreach, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Gamma networks with optional 4G backup for resilience.
• Business Mobile Services Business mobile contracts with handset supply (Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony), SIM-only plans, integrated Mobile Device Management, and customer portal access for billing and usage tracking, delivered via EE, O2 and Vodafone networks.
• Managed IT Services Round-the-clock UK-based IT support for SMEs encompassing Microsoft 365 and Azure administration, email protection, managed firewall, disaster recovery, cloud services, cybersecurity best practice and GDPR compliance with proactive maintenance on a predictable monthly cost.
• Energy Procurement Business energy procurement service that compares UK suppliers to secure fixed-rate contracts up to six years, with green energy options, bill validation, proactive renewals, meter installation support and dedicated account management.
• Pastel Partner Program Channel partner resell program that lets resellers offer Pastel's voice, mobile, connectivity, IT and energy services to their own customers with no minimum requirements, with Pastel handling billing, provisioning and tier-1 support while partners control margins.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% cost reduction on mobile services compared to previous supplier (Dougie Mac case study)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BT OpenreachcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with BT Openreach for business broadband and connectivity services including FTTP, FTTC, and SoGEA products. Provides access to UK-wide network infrastructure for business connectivity solutions.
• Virgin Media BusinesscoreTechnology or IntegrationConnectivity partnership for business broadband and dedicated leased line services.
• GammacoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for hosted voice and UC services. Pastel holds Gamma Tech Alliance and Gamma Gold partner status. Provides SIP trunking and hosted telephony platform.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for Microsoft Teams Phone service. Pastel provides Teams Phone as a unified communications option for businesses already using Microsoft 365.
• Cisco WebexcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform partnership for hosted voice services using Cisco Broadworks platform and Webex calling capabilities.
• EEcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMobile network partner for business mobile services. Pastel acts as a reseller for EE mobile networks.
• O2coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorO2 Business Partner for mobile services. Pastel holds O2 Business Partner status for reselling mobile plans.
• VodafoneminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMobile network partner for business mobile services.
• Fidelity EnergyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEnergy management partner for business energy procurement services.
• The Nebula GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner using Pastel's services to broaden their client service offerings. MD Oliver Rogerson highly recommends the partner program.
• HobbminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner benefiting from streamlined operations and innovative solutions through collaboration with Pastel.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Daisy Communications: UK-based multi-product telecom and IT managed services provider selling voice, connectivity, mobile, cloud, and IT support to UK SMEs and mid-market. Closely comparable portfolio and target customer base to Pastel.
• Gamma Communications: UK-listed Unified Communications and connectivity provider. Pastel holds Gamma Tech Alliance and Gamma Gold partner status, and Gamma underpins much of Pastel's hosted voice and SIP trunking offering. Gamma's Horizon and SIP products target the same UK SME segment with similar partner-led distribution.
• Spitfire Network Services: UK-independent ISP and managed voice provider (SME/mid-market focus) offering SIP trunking, hosted telephony, broadband, and mobile. Comparable product mix and SME-led commercial model.
• Comms Group: UK multi-brand communications reseller (Onecom, Olive, etc.) offering mobile, unified comms, connectivity, and IT services to UK SME and mid-market. Directly comparable model and product breadth.
• Exponential-e: UK managed cloud, connectivity, and unified communications provider for mid-market and enterprise. Sells a comparable converged voice/IT/connectivity stack using similar underlying carrier partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• TalkTalk Business: UK business connectivity provider (broadband, Ethernet, mobile) and existing Pastel partner. Targets the same UK SME segment with a narrower portfolio and direct sales motion.
• Vodafone Business UK: Major UK mobile and fixed-line operator that Pastel resells for mobile services. Competes directly with Pastel on mobile/connectivity while also offering broader enterprise services Pastel does not.
• BT Business: The incumbent UK carrier whose wholesale network (BT Openreach) underpins much of the UK's connectivity. Sells directly to the same SME customers Pastel targets, but as a much larger portfolio player with network ownership advantage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PastelGroupUK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@pastelgroup687
• Facebookfacebook.com/PastelGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pastel-group-uk

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pastel