Securitas (Swedish security company)

Securitas AB
Publicly traded Aktiebolag
Traded as Nasdaq Stockholm: SECU B
Industry Security
Founded 1934 (1934)
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people

Melker Schörling (Chairman)

Magnus Ahlqvist (President & CEO)
Services Security services (security guarding and mobile patrolling), monitoring, consulting and investigation
Revenue Increase 88.162 billion kr (2016)[1]
Increase 4.153 billion kr (2016)[1]
Increase 2.645 billion kr (2016)[1]
Total assets Increase 48.401 billion kr (2016)[1]
Total equity Increase 14.507 billion kr (2016)[1]
Owner

Gustaf Douglas, companies and family (10.9%; 29.6% votes)[1]

Melker Schörling, company and family (5.4%; 11.6% votes)[1]
Number of employees
 Increase 335,945 (2016)[1]
Website securitas.com

Securitas AB is a security services (security guarding and mobile patrolling), monitoring, consulting and investigation group, based in Stockholm, Sweden.[1] The group has over 300,000 employees in 53 countries worldwide.[1] Securitas AB is listed at Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, Large Cap segment.

Securitas AB owns and operates the Swiss security company Protectas AG[2] in Switzerland, where there already existed a security company called Securitas AG, part of the Swiss Securitas Group.

History

Securitas AB was founded in 1934 in Helsingborg, Sweden, as AB Hälsingborgs Nattvakt, when Erik Philip-Sörensen bought a small guarding company. In 1935, the name was changed to Förenade Svenska Vakt AB. The company expanded through acquisitions of several small security companies, initially in southern Sweden.[3]

In 1949, AB Securitas Alarm was founded as the company's security technology subsidiary, and during the following decade, the company started expanding internationally.[3]

In 1972, the group was rebranded as Securitas, the Roman goddess of security and stability,[4] with a logotype consisting of three red dots and the word "Securitas." The dots are described as representing the group's core values of "Integrity, Vigilance and Helpfulness."[5][6]

In 1976, Erik Philip-Sörensen sold the Securitas group to his sons Jörgen Philip-Sörensen and Sven Philip-Sörensen,[3] and in 1981, the group was divided between the sons, with the international operations developing into Group 4 and the Swedish operations retaining the Securitas brand.[7]

In 1983, Securitas was sold to the holding company Skrinet, and in 1985, it was acquired by Investment AB Latour, controlled by Gustaf Douglas. Under the new ownership, the group focused on security, and in 1989, an international expansion began, with acquisitions in Norway, Denmark and Portugal, and establishment in Hungary.[7][8]

In 1991, Securitas was listed at the Stockholm Stock Exchange. In 1994, the group distributed ASSA AB (acquired in 1988) to its shareholders. Throughout the 1990s, foreign acquisitions were made in eleven European countries and in the United States.[8]

In February 1999, Securitas acquired Pinkerton,[9] and in August 2000, Burns Security,[10] and several regional security companies in the United States. These acquisitions made Securitas one of the largest security companies in the world. In 2001, a new organization took effect, with five business areas according to types of services offered, and Loomis Fargo & Company was acquired.[8][11]

In 2003, the group's security services in the United States were integrated under the Securitas brand, and the group's cash handling services were completely divisionalized, with a joint management for U.S. and European operations.[12]

In 2006, the divisions Securitas Systems (alarm, monitoring, and access control systems), and Securitas Direct (solutions for homes and small businesses) were distributed to the group's shareholders and listed at the Stockholm Stock Exchange. In the same year, the divisions Mobile (small and medium sized customers), and Alert Services (electronic surveillance of homes and businesses) were created (as of 2007 constituting the business segment Mobile and Monitoring).[11][13][14]

In November 2007, the United Kingdom cash handling services of the division Loomis were sold to Vaultex Ltd, owned by HSBC and Barclays.[14] Securitas began operating in Peru in November 2007.[15] In 2008, the division Loomis (cash handling) was distributed to the group's shareholders and listed at Nasdaq OMX Stockholm.[16]

In September 2010, Securitas acquired the security-services operations of Reliance Security Group in the United Kingdom.[17][18] In November 2011, Securitas acquired Chubb Security Personnel in the United Kingdom.[19]

In 2013, Securitas acquired Pinkerton Government Services, which provides cleared security services to governmental agencies and programs that require a Department of Defense or Department of Energy security clearance. This government services division of Securitas became known as Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services. This division operates both in the United States and worldwide when cleared services are needed overseas.

In October 2015, Securitas acquired Diebold Incorporated’s (NYSE-DBD) Electronic Security business in North America. Diebold´s North American Electronic Security business, based in Green, Ohio, United States, is the third largest commercial electronic security provider in North America. Diebold´s North American Electronic Security business has approximately 1100 employees. The operation includes more than 55 000 monitored customer locations and 200 000 sites serviced.[20]

Operations

Head Office in Stockholm

Securitas is divided into three main business segments, "Security Services North America," "Security Services Europe," and "Security Services Ibero-America." Operations outside of the Americas and Europe are reported in a separate category called "Other," which also includes central expenses.[5][21]

In general, the group operates under the brand Securitas for all business segments. Specialized services including due diligence, background checks, security assessments, brand protection, intellectual property protection, executive protection, investigations, cyber surveillance, computer forensics, social compliance and IT security are performed worldwide under the brand "Pinkerton."

These operations are reported as part of the North American business segment.[5] There are three operations centers in North America: Toronto, Ontario, Parsippany, New Jersey and Westlake Village, California. The Swiss market is an exception to the name, in that general security services are provided under the brand Protectas.[21][22][23]

Securitas emphasizes the importance of values to the corporation. The fundamental values are defined as "Integrity, Vigilance and Helpfulness." The organized use of values for managing the group began in 1958, when a number of workshop meetings with employees took place. One of the aims was to reach consensus on the everyday implications of integrity, vigilance and helpfulness, which were by then already established as corporate keywords.

The result was the document "Basic Values for Guards" (Handlingsnorm för väktare), a list of 20 theses describing how a security guard should act, which over the years has evolved into the group's current basic values for employees guide.[5][3][8][11][24]

Market

Securitas office in Canada

For guarding and mobile security services in 2009, Securitas had a global market share of 11 percent and the following regional market shares:[5]

Region Market share
Europe including Turkey 19 percent
North America (Canada, Mexico and United States) 18 percent
Latin America excluding Mexico 14 percent
Other markets Less than one percent

As of 2012, Securitas was present in the following 53 countries:[21]

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China (with Hong Kong), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland (under the brand Protectas), Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

Criticisms

Securitas has been repeatedly criticized for its lack of benefits, sub-par pay towards guards and abysmal vacation. For example, in the United States, a person is ineligible for vacation time until they've been with the company for one year, and even then, they only get 40 hours per year. This continues until the employee has been with the company for 5 years, and then they get 80 hours of vacation. The reason for this, according to Securitas, is that they don't want to have guards taking time off all at the same time, creating a shortage. Others think this is just an excuse to limit the benefits of employees. Securitas does not offer sick leave. Their health insurance is awful, and the company doesn't contribute anything towards the cost.

Key people

Magnus Ahlqvist (born 1973) is president and CEO of Securitas.

As of the annual general meeting 2013, Securitas had the following board of directors:[5][25]

Name Year of birth Position Year elected
Melker Schörling 1947 Chairman of the board 1987
Fredrik Cappelen 1957 Board member 2008
Carl Douglas 1965 Board member 1992
Marie Ehrling 1955 Board member 2006
Annika Falkengren 1962 Board member 2003
Magnus Ahlqvist 1974 Board member, president and CEO 2018
Fredrik Palmstierna 1946 Board member 1985
Sofia Schörling Högberg 1978 Board member 2005
Åse Hjelm 1962 Employee representative 2008
Susanne Bergman Israelsson 1958 Employee representative 2004
Jan Prang 1959 Employee representative 2008

Ownership

As of November 2013, according to Euroclear AB, these were the 10 largest shareholders of Securitas:[26]

Shareholder A shares B shares Percent of capital Percent of votes
Gustaf Douglas and family 12,642,600 29,470,000 11.54 30.02
Melker Schörling and family 4,500,000 16,008,700 5.62 11.75
Didner & Gerge Fonder Aktiebolag 0 14,330,017 3.93 2.76
Swedbank Robur funds 0 11,851,360 3.25 2.28
SEB Investment Management 0 11,799,892 3.23 2.27
JPM Chase NA 0 10,475,292 2.87 2.02
JPM Chase NA 0 8,918,715 2.44 1.72
Lannebo funds 0 8,102,000 2.22 1.56
CACEIS/Crédit Agricole CIB 0 8,000,000 2.19 1.54
Handelsbanken funds 0 7,816,879 2.14 1.51

See also

  • Loomis for robberies committed against Loomis while it was a division of Securitas
  • Securitas depot robbery for the events of 2006affecting the United Kingdom cash handling operations of the Loomis division of Securitas, at the time operating under the Securitas brand, and in 2007, sold to HSBC and Barclays

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Securitas AB. pp. 21, 58, 62, 135.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Söderberg, Sten (1979). Vakt av värde [Guard of value] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Securitas (printed by Kugel Tryckeri AB).
  4. ↑ Dictionary of Roman Religion, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins, 2001, Oxford Univ Press, ISBN 978-0-19-514233-4
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Annual Report 2009" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  6. ↑ "Annual Report 2005" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  7. 1 2 "Our History". Securitas. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Annual Report 2000" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  9. ↑ "Securitas - press release". Cision Wire. 2009-02-22. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  10. ↑ "Securitas - press release". Cision Wire. 2000-08-03. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  11. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2001" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  12. ↑ "Annual Report 2003" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  13. ↑ "Annual Report 2006" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  14. 1 2 "Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  15. ↑ "securitas, mundo, seguridad, soluciones, tecnología - Securitas". Archived from the original on 2013-07-14.
  16. ↑ "Annual Report 2008" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  17. ↑ "Securitas to acquire Reliance Security Services in the United Kingdom". Securitas. 2010-09-30. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  18. ↑ "Approval of Securitas' acquisition of Reliance Security Services in the United Kingdom". Securitas. 2010-11-10. Archived from the original on 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  19. ↑ "Securitas completes acquisition of Chubb Security Personnel Limited in the United Kingdom". Securitas. 2010-04-01. Archived from the original on 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  20. ↑ http://www.securitas.com/en/media/pressreleases/securitas-agrees-to-acquire-diebolds-north-american-electronic-security-business/
  21. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Securitas. March 15, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  22. ↑ "Annual Report 1999" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  23. ↑ "History". Pinkerton. 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  24. ↑ "Securitas Code of Conduct" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  25. ↑ "Minutes of Annual General Meeting of shareholders in Securitas AB" (PDF). Securitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  26. ↑ "Major shareholders". Securitas. Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
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