Damovo suffers office robbery

Staff at VAR shaken by raid at Horsham head office in late December

The incident at Damovo's Horsham office is still being investigated by the police

VAR Damovo has become the latest channel victim of business crime after confirming computer equipment was raided from its head office last month.

The Nortel, Ericsson and Cisco reseller said in a statement that it was the subject of an “aggravated robbery” on the evening of 18 December.

Formal details of the incident have yet to be released because the situation is still being investigated by police. It is as yet unclear whether the equipment taken was meant for resale.

According to a police statement, six men gained entry to the premises in the evening after accosting a female member of staff in a nearby car park. They were inside the building for about 45 minutes before escaping in an unmarked transit van.

Paul Butcher, managing director of Damovo UK, said in a statement: “I can confirm that a number of staff were on site and although very shaken by the experience, I am pleased to confirm that no one was injured during the incident.”

According to the British Chamber of Commerce’s Business Crime survey last year, the annual cost of business crime to British firms has risen by 20 per cent since 2004 to £12.6bn. Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of firms polled said they had suffered a burglary.

Damovo stressed that its head office in Horsham is fully functioning and that customer service is unaffected.

“Additional security measures have been put in place for the welfare of the staff and neighbouring offices,” the VAR added.

DI Jo Banks said: "This was an ordeal for those involved, but they remained calm and called police as soon as possible. We are doing all we can to identify those responsible."