The certification, which demonstrates that the company’s policies and procedures are strong enough to protect against cyber threats, was awarded following an independent certifying assessment for the UK Government-backed Cyber Essentials programme.

John McMorrow, Melville chief executive, said: “With cyber-attacks becoming both more common and increasingly sophisticated, taking a proactive stance against them should be a priority for all responsible organisations.

“Cyber Essentials demonstrates that we take the security of our customers’ personal information extremely seriously and that we have robust procedures in place to protect our organisation against cyber-crime.

“Achieving Cyber Essentials certification is the result of a great deal of hard work however it’s only the starting point. Cyber criminals continuously evolve and so must we. Protecting our systems and ensuring our digital security will be a continual process.”

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that helps companies protect themselves against a wide variety of the most common cyber-attacks and was introduced by the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).