December 4, 2016
British cyber security business ECSC, which counts 10pc of the FTSE 100 as its clients, has announced its intention to float on London’s junior market.
The Bradford-based group hopes to raise around £5m by issuing more than 2.9m ordinary shares at 167p a piece on Aim, which will give it a market capitalisation of £15m.
Recent high profile cyber attacks on San Francisco’s light rail system, Tesco Bank, Michael Page and TalkTalk, has made cyber security an important issue for company boards. Last month, Chancellor Philip Hammond committed £1.9bn over the next five years to bolster cyber security defences.
With cyber threats unlikely to cede the spotlight in the year ahead, chief executive Ian Mann said: “We feel this is the ideal time to list on Aim and accelerate ECSC’s growth.”
Proceeds from the initial public offering will be used to invest in recruitment, taking the current headcount of 50 to around 200 by the end of 2018, and develop cyber security sales and consulting training academies. The West Yorkshire business, which already boasts Barclays and GCHQ among its client base, also hopes to open an Australian security operations centre to facilitate the increasing need for manned services 24 hours a day.