Manchester-based technical recruitment firm Morson International acquired cybersecurity firm ESP Group, also based in Manchester.

ESP Group will rebrand as Morson Cyber Security and specialize in cybersecurity managed services for the private and public sector. Morson stated that its new division aims to provide multiple regional security operations centers 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 cybersecurity consultants across all sectors," said Morson Group CEO Ged Mason. “With this acquisition, we have increased our team with some of the cybersecurity 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," said Mark Howarth, director of Morson Cyber Security. “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.