AVG plans to boost its UK headcount by two-fifths in 2009 and has kicked off a reseller training push.

The anti-malware vendor has opened a 1,700m2 head office in Newark, allowing it to expand its end-user support team and offer on-premise training to its 3,000 UK partners.

AVG, which provides both free-to-use and paid-for software, currently has 46 UK staff, but plans to recruit a further 18 this year.

Mike Foreman, managing director of AVG UK, said that the vendor would carry out fortnightly partner training sessions in its new 10-PC training suite.

“We have all the gear set up and can emulate different network technology,” he explained.

Foreman said Microsoft’s recent entry into the free-to-use market validated AVG’s approach.

“It is great news for us because we have been doing it for nine years,” he said. “But one of our main competitors is ourselves. We are spending a lot of time searching out unauthorised copies on online sites and getting them removed.”

Caroline Hodson, head of UK channel sales and marketing at anti-virus giant Trend Micro, said she did not view AVG as a threat.

“There are a number of smaller vendors looking to make an impact, but we are seeing continual growth,” she said.