CensorNet scores extra funding to support partners

Private equity house Talis Capital leads £2m funding round

UK security vendor CensorNet has bagged £2m in Series A funding to help it scale globally and provide extra support to its partners.

Founded in 2005, CensorNet pits itself against Trustwave, Websense and Symantec and provides security for internet access, cloud applications and email in the SME space.

News of the funding comes two weeks after CRN revealed CensorNet acquired part of Florida-based security vendor Sirrustec.

Private equity house Talis Capital, which has taken an undisclosed stake in the company, led the funding round alongside CensorNet's existing management, including chief executive Ed Macnair who increased his stake in the company.

Speaking to CRN, Macnair said the money will be used to boost the firm's channel support.

"The thrust of the investment is really around scaling out the business - scaling out from a development viewpoint, because we have some really exciting products in the pipeline; but also investing in the channel with sales, marketing and execution," he said.

"We have been really successful in recruiting new partners, but we need to support those partners and help them grow the business with us."

Macnair also said the deal will help CensorNet put "some feet on the street" in the US, where it is looking to expand.

Following the investment, co-founder of Talis Capital, Vasile Foca, has joined the board of CensorNet as investor director.

"We have also previously invested in Darktrace and that is in the enterprise space. What we are seeing in the enterprise is well served with FireEye, Palo Alto Networks and Darktrace, but the SME space is the next big thing," Foca said.

"We see that SMEs are underserved and there are not many products available and the pricing is challenging. CensorNet is solving two or three issues at the same time, the pricing is competitive and it's a really good service."