Cyber security firm takes share of national firm in £7.4m deal

A cybersecurity firm owned by businessman Lawrence Jones has taken a taken a share in a software firm in a deal worth £7.4m.

Manchester based Secarma has taken a 13.3% stake in Shearwater Group.

The deal sees Secarma, a provider of penetration testing and cloud security software, sell its legacy Pentest subsidiary to Shearwater.

The £7.4m is to be paid by Shearwater through £6.7m in new ordinary shares and £700,000 in loan notes.

The assets being sold include the Databridge Software Division, which owns and operates a cloud-based platform-as-a-service software package.

Databridge is licensed to customers on a recurring revenue basis and integrates IT service management platforms and ticketing systems.

Following the transaction, Secarma will continue to employ a 40-strong team of penetration testers and senior management.

The company is owned by UKFast founder and chief executive Lawrence Jones.

He said: “Secarma continues to go from strength to strength and we have laser focus on the direction we want to take the business.

“Two decades’ experience building and supporting cloud platforms with UKFast, and working closely with customers, has given us clear insight into their needs.

“Our fast-growing cloud security division is where we’re focussing our attention.

“We’re building out some really innovative recurring revenue products to give peace of mind to our customers.”

Lawrence Jones said: “Within UKFast, we’re developing our security operations centre, our threat monitoring service and just this week we announced a £4m investment in our global DDoS protection network, DDoSX.

“These products sit incredibly well alongside Secarma’s cloud security division.”

Shearwater has a longstanding relationship with Secarma and will continue to collaborate across certain projects.

Shearwater Group chairman David Williams said: “Secarma is going to be a meaningful shareholder in Shearwater Group and we’re looking forward to working closely together for the benefit of all parties.”

Lawrence Jones added: “There’s a symbiotic relationship and close synergies between the two businesses.”

Secarma is headquartered at UKFast Campus in Manchester, with teams based in Scotland and London.

Secarma was advised on the deal by legal adviser CMS, led by Manchester head of corporate, Howard Gill, who was assisted by a team including Tracey Marsden, James Crossman, James Kay and Tim Dobbing.