Minderoo a major investor in rebranded ISP

Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Group has invested in corporate internet provider Cirrus Communications, which this week unveiled new branding as Swoop.

Swoop said Minderoo was a major investor in a capital raising last year, designed to give the company the necessary funds to enter a new phase of growth.

The company also said it had added two Western Australian tech heavyweights in Amcom Telecommunications co-founder Anthony Grist and Vocus Group founder James Spencely to its board of directors.

Vocus acquired Amcom in 2015, while Mr Grist left the merged company in 2016 following a failed leadership push.

Mr Spencely said he and Mr Grist, a director of Minderoo Foundation, were excited over the prospects of building a national business.

“The rebrand is the first step in a new plan to market, exciting plans and new services for the business,” Mr Spencely said.

“In an industry that has been recently dominated by NBN, it is great to bring a disruptive service and culture to the telco space again.”

Swoop chief executive Alex West said the company, which owns and operates its own network, planned to offer industry-leading internet speeds and local customer service to disrupt the telco industry.

“We don’t rely on upstream providers to get the job done,” Mr West said.

“We also support those in the IT and telco space looking to offer their clients a business internet connection through our partner channel.”

Swoop is unrelated to ASX-listed internet business Cirrus Networks, which was established in Perth in 2012.