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State of UK buy-and-build, Autumn 2026 · Security Services

UK security services consolidation: Autumn 2026

47
UK deals by buy-and-build platforms in security services since January 2022, as filed at Companies House

Buy-and-build platforms have made at least 47 UK deals in security services since January 2022, as filed at Companies House, by 23 different platforms, 4 of them buying in the last twelve months.

Deals per year

7 2022 8 2023 7 2024 20 2025 5 2026 to date
UK deals as filed at Companies House Still filling in: less than a year of filings behind it

Source: ExitRadar analysis of Companies House filings. Free to reuse with attribution to ExitRadar.

8
Deals in the twelve months to 25 October 2026
4
Platforms buying in the last twelve months
18%
Companies at £250k–£5m EBITDA already part of a group
£129k
Typical EBITDA going in (median)
40
Independent companies in our top band for exit readiness today

Who owns the trade

467 active UK security services companies have £250k–£5m of EBITDA. 18% of them are already part of a group; the rest, owned by individuals, are the pool buy-and-build platforms buy from.

Part of a group 18%Owned through a personal holding company 16.3%Owned directly by individuals 65.7%

Source: ExitRadar analysis of Companies House filings. Free to reuse with attribution to ExitRadar.

Platforms buying in the trade

Among the platforms that bought in the last two years, named from a public source, alphabetically: Apollo Holdings, Complii, Ranger Fire & Security.

Inside the trade

Sub-tradeDeals
Fire & security systems25

Bought companies labelled from their own descriptions; a company can sit in more than one sub-trade. Source: ExitRadar analysis of Companies House filings. Free to reuse with attribution to ExitRadar.

See the companies behind these numbers

Build a buy box for Security Services and see how many independent UK companies fit it today.

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How we count

A deal is a change of control filed on the register of people with significant control, from a company's individual owners to a buy-and-build platform; two companies bought on one day count once. Asset purchases and deals outside the UK are missed, so every count is a floor. Full method and the cross-sector report.

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