By Kristy Dorsey
Private equity house Maven Capital has taken a 42% stake in Edinburgh’s Quorum Cyber Security as part of a management buy-out that will allow the firm to expand its presence overseas.
Supported by the Scottish Investment Bank, Glasgow-based Maven has injected £2.7 million into the business, which defends customers across a variety of sectors from cyber-attacks. The deal has allowed Quorum managing director Federico Charosky to buy out the two partners he co-founded the business with in 2015.
The agreement was brokered by Irish boutique finance specialist HNH, led in Scotland by Neal Allen. Mr Charosky said the deal will allow Quorum to create 20 new technical, sales and marketing jobs at its Edinburgh headquarters within the next 12 to 18 months as it scales up its business internationally.
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Quorum currently employs 25 people generating annual turnover of £2.7m. About 80% of its revenues come from UK firms ranging from SMEs to corporate organisations operating in fields such as construction, oil and gas, engineering and the public sector.
The rest comes from clients in the Middle East, Australia, South Korea and North America, and this is where Quorum will be focusing on expansion.
“Working with HNH and Maven to create the deal has been a fantastic experience,” said Mr Charosky, who retains a 36% stake in the business.
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“This deal will enable Quorum Cyber to continue growing in a sustainable way, ensuring we continue to exceed customer expectations, while protecting the amazing culture we’ve created.”
Mr Allen – who has headed up the Edinburgh office of HNH since it opened in April 2019 – said the deal proves there remains a healthy appetite among Scottish investors despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
“It was very encouraging that there was a lot of interest among Scottish-based private equity/venture capital funds, and we’re delighted to have facilitated this for Quorum Cyber,” he said.
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