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Physical Security Companies in Plymouth: 46 Active Firms (2026)
Physical security companies provide guarding, patrol, key-holding and site-protection work for organisations in and around Plymouth.
Demand in Plymouth tends to sit with facilities, estates and operations teams rather than central technology or finance buyers. Typical customers include commercial premises, public venues, residential estates and local infrastructure operators that need staffed cover, patrol routines, key-holding, alarm response and access-control support. Engagements are usually contract-led and labour-led, with pricing shaped by rota cover, licence requirements, response times and the number of sites under management. The better-matched operators for this page look like local South West service businesses rather than national systems integrators: close enough to cover Devon sites, able to manage licensed personnel, and used to renewals, call-outs and subcontracted facilities work.
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Plymouth has 46 actively trading physical security companies, which is the active-firms denominator for this list. The employment footprint is visible but fairly compact: reported headcount totals 202 across 18 reporting firms, with 100% of those reporting firms giving a headcount. Only 1 company sits above £5M in turnover, so the local market appears weighted towards smaller operators and owner-managed contractors. New formation is still present, with 12 companies incorporated since 2022, suggesting a supply base that mixes established guarding providers with recent entrants taking on local patrol, key-holding or site-protection work.
Private security work sits under the Security Industry Authority (SIA), an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Home Office. Licensing applies where services are supplied under a contract for services and involve licensable activity, including manned guarding and key holding. Front-line personnel carrying out licensable work need the relevant licence, while directors, partners, managers or supervisors may also need front-line or non-front-line cover when supplying security operatives under contract. For Plymouth buyers, this makes licence checking, supervision, vetting and subcontractor control part of supplier due diligence rather than an administrative afterthought.
The Plymouth market appears likely to remain practical and contract-led, with demand tied to premises management, visitor safety, night-time economy cover and infrastructure protection across Devon. Labour availability, licence compliance and insurance costs may matter more than technology spending for many operators, although access-control support and alarm-response coordination tend to pull the sector closer to facilities management. Scale-up scarcity is likely to persist because local guarding contracts are staff-intensive and margin-sensitive. Consolidation, where it happens, may come through contract transfer, subcontracting relationships or regional facilities groups adding security cover, rather than through a wave of specialist platforms.
46
Active firms
2026
1
£5M+ turnover
Plymouth companies
12
New incorporations
since 2022
Key facts
About 2% of the trading cohort reports turnover above £5M (1 of 46 firms) — the rest sits below that revenue band.
26% of the cohort was incorporated since 2022 (12 firms), so a sizeable share is in its first few filing cycles.
SIA licensing applies where private security work is supplied under a contract for services and involves a licensable activity, including manned guarding and key holding.
Front-line staff need SIA licences for licensable work; directors, partners, managers or supervisors may also need front-line or non-front-line licences when supplying security operatives under contract.
UK security exports were £12.9 billion in 2024, up 16.6% on 2023 in nominal terms.
Physical security accounted for 33% of UK security exports in 2024, worth £4.3 billion.
Europe was the largest regional export market for UK security exports in 2024 at £6.5 billion, or 51% of the total; North America followed at £2.8 billion.
Top Plymouth Physical Security companies
Axien Security Limited
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides private security services including door supervision, manned guarding, close protection, and event security. Also offers security consultancy, undercover investigations, and recruitment of…
Serves businesses, event organisers, licensed venues, corporate clients and organisations in Plymouth, Devon and the South West needing security personnel, close protection, consultancy or specialist…
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 9% CAGR over 4y
Location
Security Management South West Limited
Trajectory
5y · 2022–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides security services including manned guarding, mobile patrols, key holding and alarm response, retail and front‑of‑house security, event and festival security, traffic management, wireless…
Serves B2B and B2C customers: commercial businesses, retailers, front-of-house sites, event and festival organisers, property owners, homeowners, second-home/holiday-home owners and landlords with…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · Hiring · 7% CAGR over 4y
Location
STR SECURITY SOLUTIONS LTD
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
VENTURE RISK MANAGEMENT LTD
Trajectory
2y · 2024–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 1y
Location
Tranquility Solutions Ltd
Trajectory
1y · 2025–NowFinancial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
LEGIO SECURITY LTD
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
Sab Security Southwest Limited
Trajectory
1y · 2025–NowFinancial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
The Devon Bjj Open Ltd
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak
Location
Sursec Ltd
Trajectory
1y · 2025–NowFinancial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
Axien Training & Vetting Services Limited
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
Chiron Resources (Operations) Ltd
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
I&H Services Limited
Trajectory
1y · 2025–NowFinancial Health
Insufficient historyInsufficient history
Location
ACE FIRE ALARMS & SECURITY LTD
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsDesigns, supplies, installs and maintains fire alarm and fire protection systems and electronic security systems, including CCTV and access control. Provides system integration, monitoring and…
Serves B2B and public-sector customers managing commercial and industrial buildings, including fit-out firms, M&E contractors, FM service providers, building owners, retailers, schools, healthcare,…
Financial Health
StableStable · -5% CAGR over 4y
Location
SCUTUM DIGITAL LTD
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides remote monitoring services for security and safety systems, including intruder alarm monitoring, CCTV monitoring via a remote video response centre, fire alarm test desk services, vehicle…
Serves businesses and organisations that need security monitoring for premises, CCTV, fire alarms, and vehicle fleets, including facilities managers, fleet operators, security providers, and…
Financial Health
WeakWeak · -77% CAGR over 4y
Location
Fortisfidelis Ltd
Trajectory
2y · 2024–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 1y
Location
Phoenix Security South West Ltd
Trajectory
2y · 2024–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 1y
Location
Orestone Services Limited
Trajectory
4y · 2022–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 3y
Location
RJB SOLUTIONS (SOUTH WEST) LIMITED
Trajectory
5y · 2021–NowFinancial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsProvides installation, maintenance and support services for fire and security systems, including alarms and related safety equipment, offering client support and emergency call-out services for…
Financial Health
HealthyHealthy · -1% CAGR over 4y
Location
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How Plymouth Physical Security companies work and how to sell to them
What they do
Physical security operators earn most of their revenue from recurring service contracts rather than one-off equipment sales. The commercial unit is usually a staffed shift, mobile patrol route, key-holding arrangement or alarm-response commitment, with add-ons for lock-up duties, access-control administration, incident reporting and short-notice cover. Pricing tends to follow labour hours, risk level, travel time, out-of-hours cover and agreed response windows; margin depends on rota utilisation and avoiding uncovered shifts. Some operators resell or support cameras, entry systems and monitoring links, but the core product is operational reliability: licensed people turning up, recording incidents properly and fitting into a client’s premises-management routine.
Who they sell to
Most buyers are premises owners or managers with practical site-risk problems: commercial landlords, facilities managers, venue operators, residential estate managers, construction site teams, logistics yards and local infrastructure operators. Decision-makers typically sit in facilities, estates, operations, procurement or health and safety, with finance involved when cover moves from ad hoc work into an annual contract. Smaller jobs may be won through direct outreach, referrals and local reputation; larger or public-sector-linked work tends to involve tenders, facilities-management partners or framework-style procurement. Sales cycles are usually shorter for single-site cover and longer where mobilisation, vetting, insurance review and rota planning are part of the award.
What they buy
Operators tend to spend on systems and services that reduce administrative drag around labour, compliance and proof of service. Relevant categories include staff rostering, time and attendance, mobile patrol logging, incident reporting, lone-worker monitoring, licence tracking, HR, payroll, accounting, contract management and basic CRM. They also buy recruitment support, training, insurance broking, legal advice, bid-writing help, uniforms, radios, vehicles, fuel cards and maintenance for access-control or alarm-response work. Many smaller Plymouth firms will not buy large enterprise systems, so suppliers usually need a practical entry point: reducing missed shifts, keeping audit trails tidy, speeding up payroll, or making contract renewal evidence easier to produce.
Why and how to sell to them
Physical security operators tend to evaluate vendors when a new contract stretches existing rotas, a client asks for better attendance evidence, an insurance renewal exposes weak process, or a manager inherits scattered spreadsheets and paper logs. Labour churn, licence renewal dates, out-of-hours escalation and low-margin contracts create persistent pressure, but buyers may be cautious about tools that add work for supervisors or guards. Outbound tends to work better when it attaches to a live operating trigger: new site mobilisation, more patrol routes, a tender deadline, a compliance review or a shift from subcontracted cover to directly managed staff.
How this list is built
Data sources
This list is built from UK Companies House filings, XBRL accounts data, and semantic analysis of each company's public website. Revenue and headcount figures come from the most recent filed accounts; where the company has not filed, values are estimated using a model trained on filed history and peer benchmarks and are labelled as estimates.
Classification
Rather than relying solely on SIC codes, Firmbase classifies each company semantically: the company's website is crawled, an AI model reads what the company actually sells, and the company is placed into the relevant industry and subsectors. SIC codes are used as one signal but not the only one. This means a company that registered under a generic SIC code but pivoted into (for example) fintech is correctly identified as fintech, not as its original SIC category.
Freshness
The underlying company data is refreshed from Companies House continuously; filings appear in the list within days of submission. The curated list ordering is regenerated when the underlying data moves meaningfully (company count changes by more than 5%, a new company enters the top-ranked segment, or the filed-revenue numbers for the top firms change). You can see the last-updated timestamp near the top of the page.
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Frequently asked questions
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