In a move to establish one of the few fully integrated security companies in South Africa (SA), ABSA Corporate Bank and Prime Africa Investment Limited (PAIL), a Singapore consortium, are to invest some R200M over 24 months in a new company which will trade in SA as SECURECO.
Following a number of consortium-backed acquisitions in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Western and Eastern Cape, annual turnover is already sitting at R100M and is estimated to grow to R400M within five years, based on organic growth and further acquisitions.
These initial acquisitions provide the company with a strong national management team, all of whom will remain as significant shareholders in the new group.
The PAIL consortium, 50/50 owned by CISCO and Southern African Investments (SAIL), a US$100 million (R700 million) fund set up by Temasek Holdings, will invest in selected Southern African companies. Temasek Holdings is the investment arm of the Singapore government. The listed companies under the Temasek Group account for about 27% of Singapore's total market capitalisation. Temasek has total net assets in excess of US$42 billion.
CISCO, the national auxiliary police force in Singapore, has more than 27 years of experience in providing a fully integrated range of security services. It has also several established partnerships in Asia.
Integrated security services
Angus Partridge, the CEO of SECURECO, said the group plans to become the leading fully integrated security company in South and southern Africa. He says the company will offer security services ranging from, guarding, cash-in-transit, monitoring, armed response, through to high tech and other related security services.
Fanie Leach, Operating Executive at ABSA Corporate Bank, said that ABSA viewed the backing by the PAIL consortium as vitally important.
"SECURECO's management will be in a unique position to draw on CISCO's expertise in combining technology, professionalism and experience to meet the demanding security and loss prevention requirements of the South African market. Given all the elements within the consortium, we believe SECURECO will be well positioned to make major inroads into the local security market within the next five years."
Ranger Wong Kim Wah, Director, Business Development at CISCO, which boasts an annual turnover of R600 million, said, "As an integrated security specialist, our advantage is in being able to provide innovative, effective and cost-efficient loss prevention solutions for our customers. Importantly, CISCO seeks to develop SECURECO to become not only one of the largest players, but also one that operates with the highest levels of integrity in the local market. CISCO has successfully built its business on the principles of professionalism, reliability and integrity and this is our vision for SECURECO which will operate in the major cities of SA."
Increased technology
Chandra Das, a Director of PAIL and chairman of SAIL, said one of the main aims of SECURECO is to use technology as a driving force for the company's future development. CISCO, has, over the last five years, reduced its manpower related services from 70 to 50%, a move it hopes SECURECO will emulate. Ranger Wong of CISCO agreed and said, "We believe the future of the security industry will come from the utilisation of sophisticated technology.
This will offer a reliable and more effective alternative which will enhance the management of manpower resources. Instead of using guards as the security frontline - which is expensive - sophisticated security systems will, instead, alert operators of any security related incident. Where security breaches arise, armed response teams will be dispatched from a central control point."
Enhancing skill levels
Chandra Das said the use of high technology would entail using personnel with higher skill levels, adding that SECURECO, with the consortium's backing, intends to invest in ongoing personnel training.
Commenting further, Das said the PAIL consortium used the investment in SECURECO as an exciting challenge and opportunity. "There is a massive - and growing - security market in SA. Besides being able to leverage on our funding, SECURECO will also benefit from the years of operational expertise in the Asian Pacific Region which the consortium will bring to the company."
For details contact SECURECO on tel: (012) 800 1121.
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