The Government accreditation shows that Coolair’s IT systems provide the highest levels of protection against cyber threats and are helping to keep the building services environment safe to do business.

The company, which provides tailored cooling and heating services to the retail, residential, commercial, education and hotel sectors from offices in Manchester, the Midlands and Kent, achieved the kitemark-style award with the support of its long-standing IT support partner ACR IT Solutions Ltd.

Tony Burrisson, managing director of ACR, said: “Having the certificate clearly demonstrates to clients across its business sectors that Coolair takes safeguarding commercially sensitive data extremely seriously and that it manages its business processes in a secure environment.”

ACR, based in Bury and one of the UK’s leading security specialists, worked with Coolair in ensuring that the controls in place for all data, documents and devices meet the more robust requirements of the higher PLUS certification. This involved vulnerability testing by a fully qualified independent assessor.

Mr Burrisson added: “Certification has also enabled Coolair to put itself ahead of the curve in complying with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that comes into force on 25th May 2018. This will widen the scope of what is meant by personal data and the consequences of a data breach.”

Helen Sharratt, Finance Director for Coolair, said: “We are delighted to have become the first company in our field to be awarded Cyber Essentials Plus certification, which highlights our ongoing commitment to ensuring the security of our information systems as well as providing excellent customer service.

“The award, for which we have ACR to thank, means that we are not only prepared for the requirements of GDPR but able to satisfy tenders that are likely to include having the accreditation as a requirement.”