A door supervisor was arrested and charged with fraud after being found working illegally with a fake SIA licence at a club in Old Street at the weekend. The operation across the borough of Hackney was the last stage in a three month police-led pilot campaign targeting rogue door staff working in pubs and clubs in three London boroughs, Camden, Lambeth and Hackney. On Friday and Saturday [3-4 Sept], 12 venues in Hackney were visited and 41 individuals inspected. Of those, 39 held valid SIA licences. As well as the individual working with the fake licence, a security director was identified wh...

Securitas has developed and launched an internal operating website known as My Securitas as a means of promoting increased knowledge sharing and offering better opportunities for internal networking within the Group. To date, approximately 4,000 Securitas managers in more than 40 markets worldwide have been given access to this business-critical tool, and the intention is to expand this group in the near future. My Securitas is a modern operating tool containing exclusively user-generated content that will seem familiar to experienced Internet users. Using a networking function resembling Fac...

Securitas has acquired the mobile security services company Nikaro in the United Kingdom. Enterprise value is estimated to £2.75million. Nikaro operates as a national security network, and is recognized as one of the top five market leaders in key holding and response services in the United Kingdom. The company, with annual sales of approximately £2.8 million, operates through a network of service providers, and runs currently with over 750 vehicles and 1,200 trained security professionals.  With this acquisition, Securitas further enhance its position as market leader within the mobile se...

The regional winners of the British Security Industry Association’s Annual Security Officer Awards 2009 have been announced and once again highlight the vital contribution security officers are making across the country. Recognising excellence within the security guarding sector of the industry, the awards are presented in the following categories: Service to the Customer, Outstanding Act, Best Newcomer, Best Use of Technology and Best Team. John Bates, Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association, comments: "Security officers work in a variety of diverse and challenging en...

With tens of millions of customers in more than 150 countries, Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Small wonder that when the Bank reviewed its security requirements for all regions outside of the USA, it was looking for a security partner capable of providing much more than basic everyday services. After an exhaustive market evaluation, it found that VSG, the UK’s fastest growing company in the security sector, was an ideal match for its needs. Key to the decision to appoint VSG was the company’s proven experience with blue-chip clients in providing a v...

Compass Group announced to the London Stock Exchange today that it bought VSG from Lloyds Development Capital and management for a cash consideration of £64 million on a debt free basis.  VSG had revenues for the year ended 31 March 2010 of £121.3 million. Current annualised turnover is estimated turnover is estimated by Infologue.com at £150 million. This move which is set to underpin the continued growth and development of the VSG business as the UK’s premier provider of security services.  The partnership reinforces the Compass strategy to establish itself as a leading presence in t...

More than 200 licences have been suspended by the SIA following alleged malpractice at London-based training centre Tristar. The licence holders all had Door Supervision qualifications from Leyton-based centre Tristar. A specified qualification must be passed before the SIA licence can be applied for. Awarding body Edexcel withdrew the ‘Level 2 BTEC Award in Door Supervision’ certificates issued by Tristar, and removed it as an accredited centre. Because their qualifications have been withdrawn, 211 licence holders no longer meet SIA licensing criteria, which states that a specified quali...

Wheel clamping on private land will be banned in England and Wales, the Government announced today. The ban will be introduced in the Government’s Freedom Bill in November and will come into force shortly after Royal Assent. Once in place, anyone who clamps a vehicle or tows it away on private land will face tough penalties. Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone said: 'The government is committed to ending the menace of rogue private sector wheel-clampers once and for all. For too long motorists have fallen victim to unscrupulous tactics by many clamping firms. Reports of motorists being...

Kingdom Security has acquired the Southern based company, Alamo Security. The acquisition includes £4.5 million turnover, approximately 7,000 guarding hours and a large volume of mobile patrols, key holding and remote CCTV monitoring service provisions in London and the South East plus the retention of a London office (Canning Road, Stratford, London. E15 3ND) and a management support team. The current customer portfolio and security staff will integrate into the Kingdom portfolio and the acquisition is in line with the Kingdom strategy to compliment excellent organic growth with selective n...

The next Small Business Network meeting will be held on 4 October in central London. The meeting is being organised and facilitated by representatives from the network, with the support of the SIA. It is open to delegates working for, or managing, small businesses with up to 250 employees. The network meeting will be an opportunity to discuss and explore issues about the industry and regulation, and engage with the SIA and others in the industry. Places are limited and there will be a small cost to cover catering. If you would like to attend the meeting please visit www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk...