United Protection Security acquires Toronto central, looks to U.S.

EDMONTON, Alberta—United Protection Security Group, a security provider specializing in guard services and remote video surveillance, has made its first acquisition in the alarm monitoring space by purchasing Toronto-based Security Monitoring Station Inc.

The $850,000 deal, which closed Nov. 14, includes about 7,000 accounts and SMS' 2,000-square-foot central station. During the next three months, UPSG will move its video monitoring operations to the newly acquired ULC-listed facility, the company said in a news release.

Fredy Ramsoondar, CEO and director of UPSG, said the company wants alarm monitoring—and RMR—to be “a much larger component” of its growth in the future. UPSG had about 100 burglar alarm accounts before the acquisition and about 200 accounts in video monitoring, most of them commercial.

“The biggest portion of our company is physical security—security guards, patrols, drivers—but we want to get into the space of recurring monthly revenue,” Ramsoondar told Security Systems News. “We've played around with it for a little bit, but we're looking at seriously getting involved in that. With the acquisition we picked up approximately 40 dealers and we're looking at expanding that across Canada.”

Before the acquisition, SMS reported estimated RMR of more than $40,000, according to the UPSG news release. SMS also reported total annual revenue in excess of $550,000, with a net profit of more than $200,000 per year. Based on due diligence conducted during the review period, UPSG determined that SMS was generating more than $60,000 in RMR.

UPSG was founded in 1985 and has 20 branch offices in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, according the company's website. While UPSG until this point has focused on Canada, the strategy is go international.

“We're looking at U.S. acquisitions,” Ramsoondar said. “We're working with a few companies out of the States that are coming into Canada to work with some of our local companies in terms of alarm monitoring and the LifeCall [personal emergency response system], or something similar to the LifeCall.”