Cyber DueDil beats first-year targets with 20 deals

Cyber DueDil has exceeded its first-year targets after advising on more than 20 transactions and generating revenue of more than £250,000.

The Manchester cybersecurity due diligence firm works with equity-backed companies and investors on cyber risk throughout the ownership cycle, from pre-deal due diligence to exit readiness. It also provides fractional Chief Information Security Officer services to portfolio companies.

Its clients include private equity and venture capital firms such as NVM, YFM Equity Partners, Puma Growth Partners, Chiltern Capital, DSW Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, eComplete and Future Business Partnership.

Projects have involved companies operating in the UK, Europe and the US across sectors including eCommerce, defence, technology, automotive, manufacturing, AI, engineering, retail, education, edtech, energy, IT and telecoms.

Cyber DueDil was founded by chief executive Sam Brown, a former senior consultant at NCC Group and EMEA private equity cyber services lead at FTI Consulting, alongside chief operating officer Steve White and chief technical officer Jack White.

Nick Ashton, a former NCC Group director and co-founder of Liverpool IT security services business Amicis Group, is a board adviser.

Based at the Campfield tech campus in Manchester, the company employs five people and plans to double headcount.

Brown said the business is also considering external funding after launching without outside backing to support a broader expansion over the next few years.

Deal focus

Cyber DueDil operates in a part of the advisory market that has become more prominent as investors apply greater scrutiny to operational and technology risks in transactions. Cybersecurity reviews are increasingly used to assess whether a target company could face disruption, financial loss or reputational damage because of attacks or weak controls.

That focus extends beyond acquisition. For private equity owners and venture investors, cyber risk can affect portfolio performance during ownership and influence buyer perceptions when an asset comes up for sale.

Brown outlined that case in describing the company's approach to clients and deal work.

"Cyber due diligence is essential in today's world amid growing geopolitical instability, where businesses succeed or fail on their ability to be resilient and protect their intellectual property and customers.

Investors need confidence that those assets are protected against threats such as hacking, ransomware attacks or system outages.

By supporting clients across the full investment lifecycle, from pre-deal assessment through to exit, as well as their portfolio companies, we help them understand where cyber weaknesses may exist and make better-informed decisions.

Our focus goes beyond compliance to identify genuine control weaknesses that could be exploited, and prioritise practical remediation that strengthens resilience," Brown said.

Growth plans

The first-year figures provide an early benchmark as the business looks to build a larger advisory practice from Manchester. So far, its work has focused on investor-led assignments, while the fractional security officer service broadens its role with portfolio companies after deals complete.

Cyber DueDil is also part of the growth cohort on the Exchange accelerator programme, a Manchester initiative for technology companies looking to scale.

Brown said repeat instructions were a notable feature of the first year and identified expansion as the next step.

"Cyber risk is not just a deal issue. If it is not addressed, it can materially impact exit value. That might mean operational disruption, data loss or reputational damage.

Our role is to reduce that risk and improve outcomes by protecting enterprise value, strengthening buyer confidence at exit and reducing downtime and inefficiencies.

We act as an assurance partner, combining deep technical expertise with commercial insight to instil confidence and support resilience, growth and value creation.

Looking back on our first year of trading, which exceeded expectations, we saw strong repeat business from clients for whom we have become trusted advisers.

We are now looking to significantly expand the business over the next few years and, having bootstrapped so far, are considering external investment to support that growth," Brown said.