Bobby Logue, Principal at Logue Corporate, the Mergers & Acquisitions specialists, believes that 2017 will provide exciting challenges for the UK private security services industry.
“There was a clear indication of a big swing from traditional man on the gate security, to a smart blend of security, for example electronics, response and keyholding, as well as remote control through the use of control centres. One of the key indicators is illustrated by the sharp reduction in labour deployment of the traditional 108 hours covering night-time and weekend hours, which is now being covered by smarter solutions” writes Logue Corporate’s Bobby Logue.
“It is imperative that both the Regulator, and the security industry, create a development path for frontline personnel and management alike, which should allow growth within the industry. At the moment, other than a non-frontline SIA license, a person is able to set up and run a security company without proper training or experience. One of the biggest areas where companies fail is through Crown debt. Companies that experience cash flow difficulties often use employee deductions to fund their cash shortages. Employees lose their contributions in most cases where companies fail.
“Year-on-year, new innovations are being adopted by end users. Key drivers are the statutory Living Wage and the fear of a significant manpower shortage, due to the effects of Brexit and other immigration controls in two years’ time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that at least 37% of licensed security personnel do not renew their licences, which will cause recruitment difficulties in the medium term.
“Currently the breakdown of the security industry immigration labour statistics are:
- Percentage/number of licence holders with EU citizenship – Including UK 85% (267746), Without 10% (30252)
- Percentage/number of licence holders with nationalities outside of the EU/UK – 15% (47135)
- Percentage/number of licence holders that have UK citizenship – 75% (237494)
“Another issue that requires examination is the levelling of the competitive playing fields between regulated people security personnel space and unregulated personnel in the electronic and cyber security space. It clearly does not make any sense”.