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Gloucestershire Business News

Allcooper sold to Swedish security firm

It will be business as usual at a family-owned Gloucestershire business after it was acquired by a global heavyweight.

Swedish firm Securitas have completed a deal to buy Allcooper and its subsidiaries, but the Cooper family will still be at the heart of the company they founded back in 1987.

Roman Cooper, Gary Cooper, Dave Phillips and Gerrard Cooper at the opening of the new offices in 2017, picture Thousand Word Media

Founded in Gloucester in 1987 by father and son Gary and Gerrard Cooper, the Allcooper brand has been displayed on countless homes and businesses in Gloucestershire and beyond.

Family-run from the start, Roman Cooper who is now the service director for the company, was the first apprentice taken on by his dad and brother 32-years ago.

The company has grown steadily since, acquiring two rivals in the early part of this decade and opening a London office four years ago.

They now employ around 100 people, all of whom will transfer to the new company and operate under the Securitas brand by the end of 2019.

Roman Cooper said: ""This is a momentous day for Allcooper and the Cooper family.

"It is very much business as usual - we are Securitas' first Security and Fire Systems acquisition in the UK and this means that they will use Allcooper as the cornerstone of their growth strategy for their CTO business.

"I hope this means inward investment into Gloucestershire as Allcooper becomes the CTO division's UK Headquarters.

Gerard and I are staying on in the business, and have no plans to step down.

"I will continue to enjoy the role I have in the business, supporting all our customers in Gloucestershire and outside the county across the UK.

"We have been a Securitas partner for many years and have collaborated on a number of projects worth several million pounds.

"This acquisition feels like a very natural progression for Allcooper, rather than revolution."

From small family beginnings in 1987, the company soon grew to taking on employees from outside of the family and grew steadily over the late part of the 20th century.

They gained a reputation for their quality of their fire alarm and security systems and moving to premises in Oxstalls Way.

Their footprint spread throughout the 1990 and early part of the new millennium, with the acquisition of Meridian Surveillance Systems in 2013 and Executive Security in 2015.

They opened an office in Marble Arch in London in 2015 and two years later celebrated their 30th anniversary by moving to new head offices in Kingsholm.

They currently employ around 100 staff, all of whom will transfer to new owners and operate under the Securitas brand by the end of 2019.

Founded in Sweden, Securitas now provide global security services in 59 markets across the globe.

Brian Riis Neilsen, UK President of Securitas added: "The Allcooper Group has been a valued trading partner of Securitas UK for several years.

"This acquisition further strengthens our portfolio, as we continue to build our Electronic Security services as part of our Vision 2020 strategy."

Punchline says this is a fantastic success story of a Gloucestershire business growing to a level where a global giant takes it over.

They have been a brand synonymous with Gloucestershire for more than 30 years, let's hope it is around for 30 more years?

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