Manchester-based technical recruitment firm Morson International has acquired cyber-security firm ESP Group, also based in Manchester.

The transaction will see ESP Group renamed as Morson Cyber Security and will specialise in cyber security managed services for the private and public sector. Morson stated that its new division has ambitions to provide multiple regional Security Operations Centres across the UK. Morson Cyber Security also announced that it has five-year partnership with Assuria, a software solutions and security services provider.

“Cybercrime and data vulnerability are massive issues for organisations of all types and sizes, which has created substantial demand for cyber security consultants across all sectors," Morson Group CEO, Ged Mason, said. “With this acquisition, we have increased our team with some of the cyber security sector’s leading experts and brought a tried and tested managed service capability in-house, enabling us to offer clients a full-service with robust and cost effective protection for their business.”

“As part of Morson Group, we can make our proven technologies and expertise available to a much wider audience and, because our managed services provision is scalable, the potential is huge," Director of Morson Cyber Security Mark Howarth said. “Our aim is to combine our sector expertise and resources with the group’s managed service-driven approach to offer clients robust solutions tailored to meet their specific needs."

No further details of the transaction were disclosed.