What Velocity1 does

Glide Student & Residential Ltd., the legal entity behind the Glide brand (with the user identifying Velocity1 as the parent brand reference), is a privately held UK managed connectivity provider headquartered at Alpha Tower, Birmingham. The company operates its own terabit-ready fibre network across multiple UK fibre cities and delivers fibre broadband, managed Wi-Fi, and dark fibre services to complex multi-tenant environments where people live, learn, and work. Its portfolio is organised around two core product lines: Glide Business (enterprise and SMB connectivity) and Glide Manage (a next-generation connected buildings platform bundling managed Wi-Fi with advanced building technology and ESG-enablement capabilities). Supporting services include fibre broadband, fully managed Wi-Fi, dedicated dark fibre, the company's owned network infrastructure, and participation in the UK Government's Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.

The company targets eight vertical markets with primary emphasis on purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), build-to-rent residential, and small/medium businesses, supplemented by education, hospitality, data centres, public sector, and manufacturing/warehousing/logistics clients. Named reference customers include King's College London for campus-wide broadband and Wi-Fi. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise and SMB sales, a partner programme for resellers and system integrators serving property and education verticals, and self-service mobile applications on iOS and Android. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, consistent with bespoke enterprise and mid-market contracts.

The business is privately held with no disclosed parent company, institutional shareholders, funding rounds, M&A activity, or leadership team information in the source data. The firm has been operating for over 35 years, employs 51-100 people, and serves only the UK market with no stated international expansion. Marketing channels are primarily organic digital (corporate website, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, news and insights blog, and case studies), with no paid advertising or AI-driven product features disclosed.

Name

Velocity1

Legal name

Glide Student & Residential Ltd.

Website

https://velocity1.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Glide is a UK-based managed connectivity provider operating its own fibre network, delivering fibre broadband, managed Wi-Fi, and dark fibre to student accommodation, build-to-rent, business, and public-sector customers across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications / Managed Connectivity Services

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber ISPs (FTTH/FTTP Retail Providers) (HDAIADAE)

Keywords

• Fibre broadband services
• Managed Wi-Fi solutions
• Dark fibre infrastructure
• Connected building technology
• Business connectivity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wembley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Velocity1 (trading as Glide) sells managed fibre broadband, managed Wi-Fi, and dark fibre connectivity to UK businesses, property developers, student accommodation operators, universities, data centres, hospitality venues and public sector organisations. Services are delivered over its own terabit-ready owned fibre network spanning multiple UK fibre cities, with Glide Manage extending the offering into connected-building technology and ESG-enabling building management.

Product overview

Glide is a managed connectivity provider offering a unified portfolio of fibre broadband and Wi-Fi solutions for complex environments where people live, learn and work. The portfolio consists of two core product lines: Glide Business delivers enterprise connectivity services with a terabit-ready network for small, medium, and large businesses; and Glide Manage provides next-generation connected building technology with advanced building management capabilities and ESG responsibility tools. Supporting these core offerings are service products including Fibre Broadband, Managed Wi-Fi, Dark Fibre, and the company's owned network infrastructure, plus the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme for government-subsidised connections. The company operates across multiple market sectors including student accommodation, build-to-rent, education, hospitality, data centres, and public sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Glide Business: Broadband and Wi-Fi solutions for businesses, providing reliable terabit-ready network connectivity for over 35 years.
• Glide Manage

Products and services

• Glide Business Enterprise connectivity solutions providing super-fast, reliable fibre and Wi-Fi services for UK businesses of all sizes, delivered over Glide's terabit-ready owned network.
• Glide Manage Connected-buildings platform providing advanced building technology integration, managed Wi-Fi, and ESG responsibility tools for property owners and operators across the UK.
• Fibre Broadband Super-fast fibre broadband service providing reliable high-speed internet connectivity for business operations over Glide's owned fibre network.
• Managed Wi-Fi Fully managed Wi-Fi service with guaranteed performance for complex multi-tenant environments such as student accommodation, build-to-rent and business premises.
• Dark Fibre Dedicated dark fibre infrastructure providing exclusive, high-capacity network connections for organisations that require maximum bandwidth control and control over their own network.
• Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme Government-subsidised scheme providing gigabit-capable broadband connections at reduced cost for eligible UK businesses.

Named customers1 record

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CityFibre: UK's largest wholesale full-fibre infrastructure provider, rolling out to millions of premises. Indirect overlap as a competitor to Glide's owned fibre footprint and dark fibre service, though at much larger scale and wholesale-led.
• Openreach (BT Group): UK incumbent wholesale fibre and copper access network operator. Competes as the dominant UK fibre backbone/wholesale provider and overlaps with Glide's enterprise and wholesale fibre propositions.
• Virgin Media O2 Business: Major UK cable/fibre operator providing connectivity to consumer and business markets, including managed services. Indirect competitor with overlapping enterprise and hospitality connectivity offerings.

Direct peers

• Community Fibre: London-focused altnet delivering gigabit broadband to residential and multi-tenant buildings, including social housing and BTR. Comparable on owned fibre infrastructure model serving dense residential and MDU markets.
• Grain Connect: UK full-fibre broadband provider targeting new-build housing developments, MDU, and BTR operators. Direct overlap with Glide's Build-to-Rent and new-build residential fibre proposition.
• Vorboss: UK fibre operator providing dedicated full-fibre and Ethernet to London businesses and data centres. Comparable to Glide on enterprise fibre, dark fibre leases, and data centre connectivity in the UK.
• ITS Technology Group: UK B2B connectivity provider with managed fibre, Ethernet, and managed services to businesses, public sector, and wholesale partners. Comparable on B2B fibre, managed services, and regional UK service model.
• Hyperoptic: UK full-fibre broadband provider focusing on MDU, Build-to-Rent, and residential developments with vertically integrated fibre. Direct competitor in fibre-to-the-building for BTR/PBSA in the UK, overlapping on customer segment and dark fibre-style infrastructure.
• Ask4: UK managed connectivity and Wi-Fi specialist focused heavily on student accommodation (PBSA), purpose-built student housing, and multi-tenant environments. Highly comparable to Velocity1/Glide on customer segment, managed Wi-Fi proposition, and focus on complex multi-dwelling connectivity.

Emerging players

• Zzoomm: UK full-fibre altnet delivering gigabit services to residential and SME customers in regional towns. Comparable as a UK fibre ISP in the altnet segment serving residential and small business end users.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VELOCITY1LTD
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEIOKCi74RK-yzAorH7BtxA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/velocity1
• Facebookfacebook.com/VELOCITY1LTD

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Velocity1