Virtualstock, a company that focuses on helping retailers and healthcare providers compete more efficiently in the digital marketplace, announced the installment of René Schuster as Chairman. At the same time, they made public a finalized Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fundraising round of £3.42 million. These announcements make it clear that Virtualstock, one of the UK’s fastest growing tech companies, has no intention of slowing down.
If you’re unfamiliar with the company, Virtualstock provides a cloud-based solution called The Edge that helps businesses streamline and integrate their digital supply chains. The Edge has seen tremendous success and has provided those companies that use it increased efficiency, growth, and customer satisfaction. To make its success crystal clear, just consider the fact that six out of the top ten UK retailers are Virtualstock clients.
With Virtualstock’s position in mind, it’s easy to see why René Schuster would be a good fit at the helm. René Schuster has a history of successfully growing global tech and telecommunications companies. He’s best known for his run as CEO of Telefonica Deutschland, a major internet provider in Germany. While CEO, he led Telefonica through the largest IPO in Europe, raising over €1.6 billion for the company and transforming it from a €3 billion market capitalization company into one with €14 billion market capitalization. When he left Telefonica, it was one of the largest telecommunications companies in all of Europe and one of the top two consumer brands in Germany.
In addition to his time as CEO of Telefonica Deutschland, Schuster has also held several senior positions at other tech companies, including:
- Chief Operating Officer with Vimplecom, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies
- Global Marketing Director with Vodafone plc, a multinational telecommunications conglomerate based in London
- Senior Vice President with Hewlett Packard
- European CEO of Compaq Computer Corporation
Beyond his years in the tech industry, he’s also gained valuable private equity experience as a Partner at Vitruvian, a Europe-based private equity firm that specializes in helping high growth companies get needed capital.
Schuster’s experience is exactly what Virtualstock needs to keep up the momentum that they’ve gained over the past two years. In that short time, they’ve seen their revenue growth increase from a little over 60% to over 70% and their headcount go from 20 to 116. It appears that, with Schuster steering the ship, Virtualstock is poised to see continued growth and success.
With all of this said, since Virtualstock is a privately held company, there is no way to directly invest in it. However, Legendary Investments plc (LON: LEG) holds a 6.8% stake in the company. At Virtualstock’s current valuation, Legendary Investments’s stake is valued at £4.76 million and with Legendary Investments’s current market cap sitting at £3.84 million, it may be a nice way to get exposure to Virtualstock at a discount. In addition, Legendary Investments owns stakes in several other exciting companies, including Crowd For Angels and IBS. And since the market cap is less than the current Virtualstock valuation at the moment, you’re essentially getting in on those for free. All in all, Legendary Investments might be a great buy that will help diversify your portfolio and give you access to some businesses that have huge potential.