An official announcement of dealing in its shares on both the London and Copenhagen Stock Exchanges on Tuesday 20 July confirmed the previous day’s merger of leading manned security solutions providers Group 4 and Securicor Security (‘Group 4 Falck confirms merger deal with Securicor Security’, News Update, SMT, March 2004, p7). The new company – Group 4 Securicor – employs over 340,000 individuals in 100 countries worldwide, with the merger deal cementing its position as the major security contractor in the UK.
According to the company’s first media statement post-merger, Group 4 Securicor’s prime objectives are to strengthen its position in each of the four core markets – manned security, security systems, cash services and justice services – and become “the provider of choice” for key end users of integrated security services. There’s also a desire to “continue to grow organically and through acquisitions”.
The Group aims to achieve those objectives through the following strategies:
- the delivery of cost synergy targets while maintaining a central focus on day-to-day business performance (cost synergies of around GB pound 30 million per annum are expected
- as a result of the merger, with the actual cost of achieving those synergies standing at a substantial sum of GB pound 45 million);
- the use of “best business practices”, to be developed and shared across the Group;
- further development of the Group’s integrated security capability as customers increasingly seek such solutions encompassing risk assessment, manned security, electronic security and monitoring and response services;
- entering new business markets and expanding on the scale of its operations in existing ones.
Speaking about the merger, Lars Norby Johansen – chief executive of Group 4 Securicor – told SMT: “We’re extremely pleased to announce the completion of the merger, and the subsequent creation of Group 4 Securicor. Integration planning is already well underway, and the top 100 managers have now been appointed. This really means that the business can begin to deliver on the opportunities the merger brings for employees and clients alike.”