Member Article

Security firm Digital Barriers takes £3.5m hit as it turns focus to high-tech surveillance

UK global surveillance and security firm Digital Barriers plc has announced the disposal of its Services division to US-based Ecotec Ltd.

The deal will see the London-headquartered firm take a non-cash goodwill write down of £3.5m on the disposal, as it looks to focus its efforts on its Solutions division and Brimtek, the US surveillance company it acquired in March.

Performance of the firm’s Services division has lagged significantly behind the rest of the business as a result of budgetary pressures in the UK Government, one of the division’s primary clients.

With the division’s reported £1m loss comparing unfavourably to the Solution’s division’s 50% revenue growth, and coming in the wake of a $5.9m (£4.16m) deal with a US Government agency for its Brimtek division, the firm have decided to focus on its high-growth, high-tech surveillance business.

Zak Doffman, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Barriers said: “Our strategy since inception has been to establish a high-momentum technology business capable of delivering continued growth by selling proprietary, IP-rich solutions to flagship customers around the world.

“This has been an important year for us in delivering against our strategy and the strong growth and continued momentum of our Solutions division has seen us reach an inflexion point – both in terms of our growth and in our relevance to customers.

“Our Services division helped us to establish our technology credentials across major government agencies in our early years, but it is no longer strategic to the future of the Group.

“The proposed and advanced divestment of this division, combined with the acquisition of Brimtek, means that we enter the new financial year in better shape than ever before, with our sights set firmly on delivering the growth needed to deliver profitability in the year now underway.”