Matthew Riley

Matthew Robinson Riley (born February 1974) is a British businessman and the founder and executive chairman of Daisy Group, a UK-based provider of business communications and IT services.^[1][2]

Early life

Riley left school at the age of 16 and entered a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) as a trainee fax machine engineer with the Burnley-based office technology company, FH Brown.^[2][3]

Career

Riley later worked as UK sales manager for the German telecommunications company DeTeWe AG, a position he held until 1999.^[3] In 1998, he founded Daisy Executive Search & Selection, followed by Coms Care in 1999, where he served as chief executive officer until the company was acquired in 2001.^[3]

In 2001, Riley established Daisy Group.^[4][5] The company expanded through a series of acquisitions, listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2009 before returning to private ownership in 2014.^[6][7] In 2018, it was acquired by a consortium led by Toscafund in a deal reportedly valued at £1.6 billion, with Riley resuming his role as chairman.^[5] In May 2025, Daisy Group merged with Virgin Media O2.^[8][9]

Outside of Daisy Group, Riley has held non-executive roles, including chairman of the audit and remuneration committees of Time Out Group and non-executive director of Tialis Essential IT PLC.^[10][11][12] He appeared as a guest interviewer on the BBC Television series, The Apprentice in 2011 and 2012.^[13][14][15]

Recognition

Riley has received several UK business awards, including:

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young (2007)^[16]
• Dealmaker of the Year, City Awards (2010)^[17]
• Outstanding Achievement Award, ICT Forum (2019)^[18]