Focus Group alternative: check the term, then the extension.
Focus Group has grown from a Sussex telecoms firm into a national group backed by Hg, with around 30,000 SME customers and a steady run of acquisitions. If your supplier has just become part of Focus Group, or you are looking for an alternative to it, the structure of the contract matters more than the headline price.
Providers are compared on what each publishes: list prices and the conditions attached to them, minimum terms and mid-contract rises, what the price includes (calls, set-up, porting, support hours), UK-based support, and whether failover is offered. Telexico’s own entries are our list prices. Where a provider has changed its terms since the date shown, the published source wins; tell us and we will correct it.
Compiled and reviewed by Mickey Mall, Director, Telexico Communications Ltd, Wolverhampton. Updated October 2026.
Focus Group in 2026.
Focus Group (trading entity Focus 4 U Ltd) was founded in Shoreham-by-Sea in 2003. Hg announced a significant investment in April 2024, succeeding Bowmark as its private-equity backer; CRN’s 2025 Top VARs list reported revenue of £214m, and Hg’s announcement put the customer base at around 30,000 SMEs. It is a serial acquirer, with a run of deals through 2024, 2025 and 2026.
To SMEs it sells hosted voice built on Gamma Horizon and Wildix, broadband and Ethernet, business mobile and IT and cyber services under its “Digital Workplace” banner. Public-sector listings show 24/7 support with a one-hour response target on priority-one faults.
What to check in a Focus Group contract.
Taken from Focus Group’s own published terms and prices on the dates shown. Clauses change; read the version attached to your order.
Which version of the terms applies to you
The Focus Group standard terms we could read in full are the legacy version valid to 22 February 2024. Treat the clauses below as indicative of the structure, and ask Focus Group for the current version that applies to your order before relying on any of them.
Long minimum terms
The legacy terms set a Minimum Term of “five years from the Commencement Date” unless the order form says otherwise, with 24 months for Small Business Customers.
Multi-year automatic extension
Fixed network, data, maintenance, IT and mobile services “automatically extend for three years (Extended Term)” unless 90 days’ notice is given; small businesses have 30 days (90 for data).
Termination charges
After handover, the legacy formula is the line rental for the remaining term plus “the greater of £500 or three months’ average call charges multiplied by the remaining months”; data services charge the remaining-term charges. Mobile “Hardware Fund” subsidies are clawed back if the term is not completed.
CPI + 3.9%, maintenance 8%
Charges rise each April by “CPI plus 3.9%” using the January CPI figure (the terms give the worked example of £100 becoming £109.30), and maintenance contracts by 8% at each anniversary.
Focus Group and Telexico, on the points that decide it.
Telexico is a competitor, so judge this table on the facts in it: the Focus Group column is from its published documents, the Telexico column from how we actually contract.
| What matters | Focus Group | Telexico |
|---|---|---|
| Contract term and notice | Legacy terms: five years unless the order says otherwise; 24 months for small businesses; three-year automatic extension | Rolling 30-day terms available, or 12 months where handsets are included; the term and notice period written on the first page of the proposal |
| Price rises | CPI + 3.9% each April; maintenance 8% a year | No mid-contract price rises |
| Leaving early | Remaining line rental plus the greater of £500 or three months’ average calls × remaining months (legacy) | Discussed openly before you sign; we plan switches around existing end dates |
| Handsets and equipment | Hardware Fund subsidies clawed back on early exit | Standard SIP handsets you are not locked to; on 12-month terms they are included and become yours |
| Who supports you | 24/7 desk with a one-hour P1 target (public-sector listing) | A named UK engineer; the person who set you up answers |
| Installation | National; grown by acquisition | On-site from Wolverhampton across the Midlands; UK partner engineers elsewhere |
| What sits on one bill | Voice, data, mobile and IT under one group | Phones, full fibre or leased line, WiFi, 4G/5G failover, CCTV and AI on one bill |
| Published price | Quote only (Horizon £7.20 and Wildix £7.96 per licence on G-Cloud) | One per-user price per month quoted in writing before you sign, UK calls included; set-up and number porting free |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
Who Focus Group suits, and when to stay.
Who Focus Group genuinely suits
Focus Group suits a business that wants voice, data, mobile and IT from one large supplier with a 24/7 desk, and that has the time to negotiate the term and the extension clause. Its Trustpilot profile showed 4.1 from about 3,200 reviews on 7 October 2026.
Why people look elsewhere
The reasons people search for a Focus Group alternative are the length of the minimum term, the multi-year automatic extension if the notice window is missed, CPI + 3.9% increases, and the account changes that follow when a smaller provider they chose is absorbed into the group.
When to stay put
If you are inside a long minimum term, moving early is rarely worth the charges. Instead, write down the exact end date, the notice window and the extension length from your own order form, and start comparing six months before the window opens.
The main alternatives to Focus Group in 2026.
Each suits a different kind of business. Ours is first; we have said plainly who the others are for.
Telexico: managed and local
A fully managed hosted phone system with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and standard desk phones, one per-user price quoted in writing, rolling 30-day terms available, no mid-contract price rises, your numbers ported, and a named UK engineer. Add full fibre or a leased line, WiFi, 4G/5G failover, CCTV and AI call answering on the same bill.
Gamma Horizon through a good partner
A solid hosted platform if you find a responsive reseller; many of the suppliers on this page sell it. You are still dealing through a partner, so judge the partner, not the platform.
RingCentral or 8x8
Enterprise cloud platforms with deep contact-centre tooling. Best for larger or international operations; more than most UK SMEs need.
Microsoft Teams Phone
Sensible if your business already lives in Microsoft 365. Telexico can supply Teams calling too, so this is not an either/or.
Self-service VoIP (bOnline, Yay.com)
Cheap and quick for a micro business happy to set everything up itself, with no on-site install or local support.
3CX, self-hosted or managed
A software PBX that is inexpensive at scale if you have IT to run it, or a partner such as Telexico to manage it for you.
How the switch from Focus Group works.
1. Review
Send your Focus Group bill and the terms or renewal you have been offered. We list your numbers, users and end dates, and tell you what we would change, what it costs and whether staying is the better move.
2. Build alongside
We configure the new system, ship desk phones and set up the Telexico Mobile App while Focus Group keeps running. Nothing is switched off early.
3. Port and cut over
Your numbers port on an agreed date, usually one to three weeks from authorisation, with both systems tested side by side. Your named engineer stays with you afterwards.
The services behind the comparison.
Business phone systems
Hosted cloud calling with the Telexico Mobile App, Web UC and desk phones.
AI call intelligence
Every call transcribed, summarised and flagged for complaints and opportunities.
Business broadband and full fibre
The connection the phones depend on, with 4G/5G failover built in.
Every comparison in one place
Other suppliers compared the same way.
The PSTN switch-off
What the end of analogue and ISDN lines means for your set-up.
Free infrastructure review
Send a bill; get an honest comparison within two business hours.
What Focus Group’s published terms say.
Quoted or closely paraphrased from Focus Group’s own terms, prices and published pages on the dates shown, with a link under each point. Clauses change: read the version attached to your own order before relying on anything here.
Minimum term
The VoIP page’s own footnote: “All prices are based on a five year contract term and a minimum of 10 users.” The standard terms (for contracts from 24 July 2026) define the Minimum Term as five years unless the order says otherwise; small businesses are entitled to a 24-month cap and can opt out of it.
SourceRenewal and notice
Fixed-network, data and IT contracts “automatically extend for three years” unless notice is given at least 90 business days before expiry; small business customers continue until 30 business days’ written notice.
SourceThe annual rise
Clause 10.1: Focus “shall automatically apply an annual increase in the Charges based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 3.9%”, with 3.9% as the floor; maintenance charges rise a further 8% on each anniversary (clause 10.7).
SourcePublished prices
VoIP from £7.99, £14.99 and £19.99 per user a month on the five-year, ten-user basis; SoGEA from £24.95 and ultrafast fibre from £26.95 a month; leased lines “starting at £195 per month”.
SourceSupport
“Total Care” 24/7 support, 24/7 fault reporting, “over 1200 experts working from 19 sites across the UK”; an account manager is referenced on the small-business page.
SourceReviews
Trustpilot “Focus Group”: 4.1 out of 5 from 3,166 reviews (80% five-star, 13% one-star), with replies to 100% of negative reviews. Backed by Hg since April 2024 after 20-plus acquisitions.
SourceThe notice window is the whole game.
The window is 90 business days before the end of the term, in writing, or the contract extends by three years (30 business days for small-business customers). Count back from your end date now, send notice early and keep the acknowledgement; tell us the date and the switch lands inside it.
Tell us your end date →Months away? The date goes into the director’s diary and we come back before the window closes, with a written quote to compare against the renewal.
Four things that are the same on every Telexico agreement.
Rolling 30-day terms, or 12 months where handsets are included; the term and the notice period are written on the first page of the proposal. There is no automatic renewal clause: when a term ends you stay on 30-day rolling, nothing re-ties you for another year.
The per-user price you sign is the price for the term. There is no April uplift clause in a Telexico agreement.
Numbers port across on an agreed date, the new system runs alongside the old one until it is tested, and nothing is switched off early.
A named engineer and account manager from Wolverhampton, a WhatsApp group for your team, and a UK phone line answered by people who know your sites.
Trustpilot score shown for Focus Group: 4.1 out of 5 from 3,166 reviews on 14 October 2026 (Trustpilot). Telexico is a competitor; judge the points above on the documents linked, not on us.
Focus Group alternatives: your questions.
My provider was bought by Focus Group. Does my contract change?
Your existing contract carries on under its own terms until it ends or is renewed. The point to watch is renewal: ask which terms will apply, what the minimum term and extension period are, and get the answer in writing before you agree anything.
How long is a Focus Group contract?
The legacy terms describe a five-year minimum unless the order form says otherwise, and 24 months for small businesses, with a three-year automatic extension if notice is missed. The current version may differ, so ask for it.
Can Telexico match a 24/7 support desk?
We give you a named UK engineer and a direct line, with out-of-hours cover for faults on the services that need it. For most small and mid-sized businesses, knowing who will answer matters more than a round-the-clock queue.
What does switching involve?
A review of your terms and bill, an honest view on timing, then the new system built alongside the old one and numbers ported on an agreed date. Nothing is switched off until the new set-up is tested.
Compared the same way: dated terms, published prices, who each one suits.
Where the Focus Group facts come from.
Checked on 7 October 2026. Telexico is a competitor of Focus Group; the figures are from the documents below and may have changed since. Verify the current versions before relying on them.