Red Helix ran the rule over more than 20 companies during the hunt for its maiden acquisition, its CEO has revealed.
The organically grown cybersecurity and network performance specialist this morning announced it has joined the M&A trail by snapping up 15-employee security consultancy Risk Crew.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, CEO Marion Stewart said LDC-backed Red Helix had “very clear criteria from the outset” in its selection process.
“This is not the first acquisition that Red Helix has explored,” she said.
“We looked at several other companies over the last year or so before settling on Risk Crew as the target purchase, meeting over 20 in the process.
“Primarily we were looking for a company that expanded our capabilities in cyber security and was additive to what we already have in our own portfolio, specifically a company with deep expertise in GRC and security testing.”
“Scale was important”
Ranking 212th in Oxygen 250 2025, Buckinghamshire-based Red Helix snared investment from LDC in 2021 before rebranding from Phoenix Datacom in 2022.
Counting Colt, Siemens, Ocado and Virgin Media O2 among its customers, the vendor-agnostic outfit has more recently expanded to address the cyber needs of SMEs.
Risk Crew brings in a customer base that includes mid-market organisations and well-known brands, Stewart said.
“As our first acquisition, scale was also important as we wanted a business we could fully integrate while maintaining the quality of service our clients expect,” she said.
In a canned statement, Ana-Maria Garaba, Investment Manager at LDC, said: “The Red Helix team is making impressive progress against their strategy, completing strategic acquisitions that fit their culture and enhance what they can offer clients in today’s fast-moving business landscape.
“It’s been great to support their journey so far, and we’re excited to help them go even further in this next phase of growth.”
