RMR Capital Group launches at ESX

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn.—Saying there's a “glaring need for capital” among small and mid-sized alarm companies, another new lender has entered the security space: RMR Capital Group.

“There are many dealers that cannot access capital through [the] traditional routes that other small businesses can,” Kris Kirby, president of RMR Capital Group, told Security Systems News.

RMR Capital will provide loans in the $150,000 to $500,000 range. “Though we can go higher and will look at lower,” Mike Donegan, VP of RMR Capital Group, told SSN.

Kirby and Donegan have both worked in and around the security industry for years. Kirby worked with security dealers as principal of Kirby Capital Advisors, and before that as an investment banker with Morgan Joseph. Donegan is a 35-year veteran of the security industry, having worked at CMS, Criticom and FSS (Financial Security Services), formerly a financial loan company for the security industry.

Kirby said RMR will do “partial account purchases, full company purchases and [provide] a range of other financing solutions.”

A buy-back option is one of those solutions, Donegan noted. “For the dealer who needs capital today to grow, they can leverage existing accounts by selling them to us. They'll retain the billing and service of those accounts and the monitoring will stay where it is. They can then buy back the accounts in three years at a pre-agreed-upon multiple.”

“We recognize the value-add we can bring to a central station that has dealers asking questions about funding,” Donegan said.

“We will work closely with the dealer and central to make sure it's totally seamless to dealers and customers.”

RMR Capital Group launched at ESX and now has five deals in the pipeline. “We had an amazing response from central stations. We'll be working with dealers from referrals from central stations. That was our primary reason for being at ESX,” Donegan said.