Hosting company Peer 1 launches in the UK today, promising to meet the increasingly high expectations of small and medium sized firms which rely totally on their web businesses.

Peer 1 is the top hosting firm in Canada, and is among the top five in the US where its datacentres provide the hosting capabilities.

However, today sees the official launch in the UK, where it already has £3m worth of turnover. The firm has headquarters in Southampton, and a south coast datacentre currently under construction.

UK managing director Dominic Monkhouse, who formerly held the same position at managed hosting giant Rackspace, explained that the firm differs from its rivals by owning its own network.

"If you have a high-performance web site running on a high-performance network, you'll get lower latency and fewer shopping carts abandoned," he said. "Most hosting companies think of themselves just as a hardware technology business, but we understand that we're really supporting their online business. "

Monkhouse claimed that his new business would try to focus on exceptional customer service. As a result, the firm is offering £1,000 to any new employees who do not make the grade as a means of parting company swiftly.

"If a member of staff spends three to four months with us and then leaves, we've got to recruit and train a replacement," he said. "This could save us nine months of lost progress in the business. We really need people who get a kick out of delivering great customer service."