 | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2001; 24 years ago (2001-09) |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | 5th Floor, Broadway House, 5 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2DA,England,United Kingdom |
Area served | |
Key people | Stephen Shurrock (CEO)[1] |
| Products | Mobile telecommunications services |
| Revenue |  €513 million (2023) |
| Owner | Alchemy and Triton |
Number of employees | 400(2016) |
| Parent | VIEO B.V. |
| Website | www |
Lebara is atelecommunications company providing services using themobile virtual network operator (MVNO)business model in theUnited Kingdom,France,Denmark,the Netherlands,Germany,Saudi Arabia,Spain,Switzerland andAustralia. Lebara providespay-as-you-go and contract-based mobileSIM cards[2][3] in these countries, and its brand is also used under license in four other countries.
Lebara was founded in 2001 byUK-basedRatheesan Yoganathan,Rasiah Ranjith Leon andBaskaran Kandiah. The nameLebara was coined from the first two letters of each of the founders' names.[4] At launch, the company's initial product was internationaltelephone calling cards, sold through independent mobile phone shops.[4] In 2004, Lebara launched its first mobile virtual network, a low-cost international service in theNetherlands, selling SIM cards using mobile carrierTelfort, a subsidiary ofKPN.[4] After finding success, it subsequently launched operations in other European countries including the UK (2007),France,Spain,Switzerland,Germany (2010) andDenmark.[4]
Lebara's Swiss operation (Lebara GmbH, Zurich) was sold on 1 July 2013 toSunrise Communications.[5]
In September 2017, Lebara Group B.V. was sold to Switzerland-based Palmarium Advisors AG.[6] The Spanish operation of Lebara (Lebara España SL) was sold to MASMOVIL Group in November 2018.[7] In 2019,bondholders of Lebara (under holding company Vieo B.V.) took control of the company.[8][9]
Lebara was sold to Waterland Private Equity in August 2024.[10]
The company currently operates in the UK, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany; as of 2023, it had at least four million customers.[11] It has also entered into brand license agreements for the use of its trademarks in Australia, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
In 2017 Lebara launched its first postpaid monthly contract SIMs in the Netherlands, as part of a move to appeal to a wider customer base.[12]
As of 2017, Lebara focused on the international calling market as well as offeringSIM-only plans and post-pay services. Lebara plans to offer5G services as these become available.[13]
| Country | Partner network |
|---|---|
 Australia | Vodafone[14][15] |
 Denmark | Telenor |
 France | SFR(Orange France until June 2024)[16] |
 Germany | O2(Telekom until May 2022)[17][18] |
 Netherlands | KPN[19] |
 Saudi Arabia | Mobily[20] |
 Spain | Vodafone[21] |
 Switzerland | Sunrise[22] |
 United Kingdom | Vodafone[23] |
Lebara Mobile has been reviewed for its competitive pricing and international call services, with mixed feedback on customer service and network reliability.[24]
