Our Story

UKWebMail was founded in Birmingham in 1997, at the dawn of the commercial internet era in Britain. Our founders, David Hartley and Margaret Chen, recognised that as more businesses came online, they would need reliable, professional email services to communicate with customers and partners.

What started as a small operation serving local West Midlands businesses has grown into one of the UK's most trusted email hosting providers. Over 27 years later, we've stayed true to our founding principles: provide excellent service, keep data in the UK, and treat every customer like they matter—because they do.

Today, UKWebMail serves over 250,000 users across Britain, from sole traders to FTSE 250 companies. We've grown steadily by focusing on what we do best: email. While others have chased the latest trends, we've invested in making our core service as reliable and secure as possible.

What We Believe

We believe email is critical infrastructure, not an afterthought. Your business depends on communication that works, every time. That's why we've built our service around reliability first, with multiple redundant systems across two UK data centres.

We believe in genuine support from real people. When you call us, you speak to someone in Birmingham who understands email inside and out. No scripts, no chatbots, no passing the buck. Just expert help when you need it.

We believe in privacy and data sovereignty. Your emails stay in the UK, on servers we own and operate. We don't scan your messages for advertising, sell your data, or share it with third parties. Full stop.

Our Infrastructure

Our primary data centre is located in London Docklands, with a secondary facility in Manchester providing full redundancy. Both facilities are ISO 27001 certified and operate at Tier 3+ standards, ensuring 99.982% availability.

We partner with leading network providers including Cogent, GTT, and LINX to ensure optimal connectivity across the UK and beyond. Our infrastructure is powered by 100% renewable energy, and we're committed to achieving net zero operations by 2030.

Our Journey

Key milestones from over 27 years of service

1997

Company Founded

David Hartley and Margaret Chen establish UKWebMail in Birmingham, initially serving 50 local businesses with basic email hosting services.

1999

First Data Centre

Opened our first dedicated server facility in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, moving from co-located servers to purpose-built infrastructure.

2002

10,000 Users

Reached 10,000 active users and launched our first webmail interface, allowing customers to access email from any browser.

2005

London Data Centre

Opened our London Docklands data centre to provide geographic redundancy and improved connectivity for southern England customers.

2008

50,000 Users

Passed 50,000 users and introduced our first business-grade plans with enhanced security features and dedicated support.

2012

Mobile First

Launched ActiveSync support and completely redesigned webmail for mobile devices, recognising the shift to smartphone email access.

2015

ISO 27001 Certified

Achieved ISO 27001 certification for our information security management system, demonstrating our commitment to protecting customer data.

2018

Manchester Data Centre

Opened our Manchester facility, providing full N+1 redundancy and ensuring continuous service even in the event of a complete site failure.

2020

Carbon Neutral

Achieved carbon neutral status by transitioning to 100% renewable energy and offsetting remaining emissions through verified UK woodland projects.

2023

250,000 Users

Reached quarter of a million active users, launched advanced threat protection, and expanded our UK support team to 24/7 coverage.

2026

Today

Continuing to invest in infrastructure, security, and support to deliver the reliable, professional email service UK businesses deserve.

Leadership Team

The people guiding UKWebMail's continued growth

DH

David Hartley

Co-Founder & Chairman

Co-founded UKWebMail in 1997 and has guided the company's strategic direction for over 27 years.

MC

Margaret Chen

Co-Founder & CEO

Leads day-to-day operations and has overseen the company's growth from 50 to 250,000 users.

RW

Robert Williams

Chief Technology Officer

Joined in 2008 from BT. Responsible for infrastructure, security, and platform development.

SP

Sarah Patel

Chief Operating Officer

Oversees customer support, operations, and quality assurance. Joined in 2015 from Virgin Media.

Our Values

The principles that guide everything we do

Reliability First

We invest in redundancy, monitoring, and maintenance so you never have to think about whether email will work. It just does.

Security Always

Your data is your business. We protect it with enterprise-grade security and never monetise your information.

People Matter

Real support from real people. We invest in training and retaining expert staff who genuinely care about solving your problems.

Honest Pricing

No hidden fees, no surprise charges, no lock-in contracts. You know exactly what you're paying for.

British Through and Through

UK headquarters, UK data centres, UK support staff. We're proud to be a British company serving British customers.

Continuous Improvement

We've been doing this for 27 years and we're still learning. We constantly invest in making our service better.

Join Our Team

We're always looking for talented people who share our values

Technical Support Engineer

Birmingham - Full Time

Help our customers get the most from their email hosting. Previous technical support experience required.

Apply Now

Systems Administrator

Birmingham - Full Time

Maintain and improve our email infrastructure. Linux experience essential, mail server experience preferred.

Apply Now

Account Manager

Birmingham / Remote - Full Time

Support our Business customers and help them get the most from their accounts. B2B experience preferred.

Apply Now

Don't see a role that fits? Send us your CV anyway - we're always interested in hearing from talented people.

Ready to join 250,000+ UK users?

Experience the difference of a premium web service provider that puts reliability and support first.