Public spots to corporate requirements: Security firms are quietly raking in the moolah

Security is slowly emerging as a growing sector in India given the increased threat perceptions everyday. From public spots to corporate requirements, the security firms are quietly raking in the moolah as protecting people and assets have become integral, particularly in an urban set up. Indian scrutiny company TOPSGRUP has grown nine fold in the last seven years. Its revenues have grown from Rs 118 crore in FY07 to Rs 1,034 crore in FY14. The company is also projecting revenues of Rs 1,432 crore and an EBITDA of Rs 145 crore in the current fiscal.

TOPSGRUP vice chairman and CEO of Topsgrup India, Ramesh Iyer in an email interview to Firstpost shares his views on where the sector stands now and how his firm plans to expand in the near future. Edited excerpts:

More from Corporate

Maha: Court orders Rs 30L compensation for parents after youth dies in road accident Ashleigh Barty comes from set down to beat Coco Gauff in Australian Open lead-up

What are the main challenges that came across for TOPSGRUP?

The challenges normally are centered around getting the right people, as our selection norms are quite stringent. Further, the working capital support for growth funding for industries such as ours which are working capital centric could have been better.

[caption id=“attachment_108061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  TOPSGRUP vice chairman and CEO of Topsgrup India, Ramesh Iyer.[/caption]

It is evident that you are concentrating on consolidating your footprint abroad by acquiring UK firm The Shield Group. How much of a difference it will make to your balance sheet in future?

The UK entity will and has made quite substantial benefits to our balance sheet. We have already outsourced quite a lot of back office support to India at a much lower cost than what we incur in the UK. Cross selling between the MNC brands that we service in the UK and India have helped us consolidate our wallet share in both our countries. The technology and expertise used in the UK is quite advanced compared to India which gives us the know-how to implement the same in India. The markets in the UK are quite mature while India is going in that direction. This helps our experience in the UK to put to use in India.

From physical to cyber, security has become a huge business sector in itself not only in India but globally. And naturally you will have growing competition from your rivals. What different solutions do you offer to attract your clients?

TOPSGRUP is the only company in India to offer integrated total security solutions to the Indian customers. There are customers in India who have started demanding total security solutions and TOPSGRUP is geared up for that by offering consultancy, design, execution through manned guarding services, electronic security systems, back ground checks and investigation, emergency response service, facility management and training. We offer a one stop shop solution which is in line with customer expectations.

Although security is being constantly upgraded to make it foolproof, the threat perception never cease to exist. Threats from anti-social elements particularly bombers or shooters are increasingly getting real. How are you going to respond to them?

Countries in the West and developed economies have combated terrorism quite well. Fortunately we exist in the UK market to learn and implement what is effectively practiced there. We have extended our expertise to the Indian markets and effectively combat terrorism threats here wherever possible. This is because quite a lot of critical establishments are still secured by the government through paramilitary forces unlike the West. So wherever limited opportunities prevail, such as large infrastructure projects like airports, metros, public foot fall areas such as multiplexes, malls etc. However, we do provide training services and supply of technology to the paramilitary forces to combat terrorism effectively.

How well are your personnel trained? Who trains them? Do you have your own facilities and courses to make the recruits fit to a certain standard to protect your clients? Even people from government security agencies are finding it tough to handle the pressure. In fact, we have seen rising suicides and workplace killings even in the army?

We have no such suicide issues as we not only train our people well but also take care of them by paying them well. We have over 22 owned training centers across the country where ex-police, army and other services personnel carry out detailed training set up by Private Security Agencies Act of 2005 and National Skill Development Council. Apart from these training we also conduct customised training and also on-the-job training to our security personnel at frequent intervals.

Keeping it to your staff, how many women are part of your organisation? What role do they play in securing your clients? Are their training at par with women?

The women personnel constitute five percent of our total strength. Women are usually deployed in public foot fall areas such as malls, metros, airports, multiplexes, hospitals etc. to take care of the safety of families and children, and also frisk women visitors. They also get deputed to corporates to handle complex functions like receptions etc. The training given to them are as per the above standards, including customized training.

What kind of support are you getting from government agencies? Do the intelligence agencies share information when you guard premises jointly?

The government intelligence agencies do not directly share any information to the private security though the same comes through our clients whom we service. However, where joint services are provided we are taken into confidence to step up the vigilance.

What is your clientele base like? I reckon you are associated both with corporate and private customers. Which segment of your clients will outrun the other according to you in the time ahead?

We have a broad based client base which includes government, multiplexes, malls, hospitals, BFSI, corporates, infrastructure related segments like power companies, metros, airports, manufacturing, technology/ITES sector. The manufacturing and infrastructure segments will outrun the others in the days to come.

Along with security, there is also the aspect of disaster management. Any plans to play a bigger role in that area notwithstanding the nature of emergency - man-made or natural?

Topsline 1252 is a service dedicated to Mumbai, Thane and Vashi. In the other cities we have quick response teams who are trained to respond to medical, assault and fire emergencies. Even otherwise our manned guarding teams are trained to handle man-made or natural disasters and we have always demonstrated this, be it the Mumbai Taj attack, the 26 July Mumbai deluge or the various bomb attacks in various parts of the country.