Glide Utilities Limited, the Birmingham based provider of home utilities for shared accommodation, has secured development capital funding to allow it to expand nationally.

Glide, which was set up by Sandeep Krishan and James Villarreal in April 2006, whilst they were still at the University of Birmingham, has ambitious plans to roll out its services to students, young professionals, landlords and letting agencies across the UK. Glide started by offering services to University of Birmingham students in Birmingham but the concept quickly took off and Glide found themselves with houses in other major cities. As a result Glide now has much bolder plans.

Sandeep and James personally funded the start up of the business and were supported initially by a grant from the University of Birmingham’s Honeypot fund to help them get the business off the ground. Help from Business Link provided consultancy support to enable the directors to put together a strong business case for Corporate Finance.

"It is really pleasing to give our support to Glide whom have demonstrated real innovation in their business. Raising finance is never easy but with Business Link support, the potential of businesses like Glide can be realised," commented Anthony Andrews – Sector Manager Business and Professional Services, Business Link West Midlands.

The service has proved to be particularly attractive to landlords by not only increasing their bottom line but also making houses more attractive to prospective tenants.

Corporate finance advice was provided to Glide by Charles Cattaneo of Cattaneo LLP and legal advice was provided by Richard Baizley of Martineau Johnson.

Charles Cattaneo, financial adviser to Glide said: "When I met Sandeep and James I realised they had a good business idea and their energy, enthusiasm and drive at such a young age was impressive. With support from local investors they have now secured the funding that they need to move to the next phase of development and roll the business out nationally."

James Villarreal, CEO of Glide said: "Raising the capital means Glide can build the infrastructure capable of handling a national rollout. We are pleased to have been able to secure the support that we needed locally from the University of Birmingham, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and local investors."

Sandeep Krishan, COO of Glide said: "The business model is simple, we are providing services that students and landlords want and we believe that we have a winning formula. We won’t let our success to date go to our heads as we know that we have a lot of hard work in front of us to replicate our success on a much larger scale."

Dan Corlett, from the Entrepeneurship and Innovation Centre at the University of Birmingham’s Business School says: "I'm really pleased the University of Birmingham was able to help James and Sandeep at the germination stage of their business and it has been great to watch them grow Glide from strength to strength. It is so important that we encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs to try out their ideas in the supportive environment of university and it's very rewarding when, like with James and Sandeep, real success occurs."

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