During that period, subscribers grew from 5,012 to 5,874, and the number of employees nearly doubled, increasing from 109 to 181.

Martin Cheek, managing director of SmartSearch, said: “These record results for 2021 come in the context of a 77% increase in turnover at SmartSearch over the past three years.

“This growth reflects a surge in demand for our state-of-the-art technology, especially from regulated companies, as they seek an effective solution to the dramatic rise in attempted fraud and money laundering since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are now focusing on building upon this growth, and SmartSearch’s strategy for moving the business forward will be driven by our new chief executive Guy Harrison, who has joined us from Dow Jones.”