Danish cyber firm opens Yorkshire office as it announces UK growth plans
A Danish cybersecurity company has opened an office in Leeds and signed a long-term distribution agreement as part of ambitious expansion plans to become the UK market leader in its field.
Heimdal™ Security’s new office is its second in the UK and within easy reach of Ripon-based Brigantia, its master distributor in the UK and Ireland.
Heimdal, which currently employs six in Leeds and 24 in London, expects to more than treble staff at both sites in the year ahead – outstripping the size of its teams in Copenhagen and Romania and making the UK its biggest global operation.
It also aims to grow UK revenue by 500% by the end of 2021, ultimately becoming one of the country’s biggest cybersecurity vendors.
Heimdal’s unified suite combines six products into a single platform and aims to disrupt the market for endpoint protection – a key way for companies to protect their corporate network by monitoring laptops and other devices which connect to it.
The company has had a skeleton team in the UK since 2016 but has been growing rapidly since the investment in the business by Marlin Equity Partners in March 2020 and the appointment of Ruth Schofield as country manager in September.
Schofield, who is from York and has over 20 years’ experience in cybersecurity, was previously MD of KnowBe4 in the UK and Ireland and part of the team that helped it achieve $1bn ‘unicorn’ status.
She said: “Heimdal is an exciting, disruptive company whose technology takes endpoint protection to the next level.
“Our products are perfect for the current times, when the growth in cybercrime and the move to working from home has created a fraud epidemic.
“This is the last thing businesses need right now but fortunately it is one epidemic for which we can offer a ready solution.
“We believe Leeds is an ideal location for an ambitious cybersecurity firm, with the presence of a strong local talent pool and offering access to the wider Northern Powerhouse market.
“Together with our London office, it will also provide a springboard to the global market, helping us to achieve our goal to become the world’s leading intelligent security provider with a unified platform.”
Angus Shaw, of Brigantia, added: “We are delighted to be able to offer Heimdal’s product range.
“Not only does it simplify security and reduce costs by consolidating multiple products in one, but the automated patching solves a common problem. We believe it will revolutionise the market for endpoint protection.”
