Company Q&A: High-value transportation

We sit down with Security Drivers International to find out more about its secure high-value transportation service

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Tell us about the company and how it was set up

Security Drivers International, founded in 1995, is a British owned and managed family business. The original founder, John English, is still active in the daily operations of the company. All of our security drivers are former Police Royalty Protection Drivers. They each hold the Home Office approved, National Certificate in VIP Anti-Hijack Driving.

What type of security services do you provide?

Our core business is transporting high value assets by road. This includes jewellery, diamonds, gold, digital data and fine art. We also transport, dignitaries and other VIPs.

In a typical year how many escorts does the company do?

We carried out over 500 security escorts and over 3,000 VIP transfers in 2015. This makes us the UK leader in high-value asset protection.

Who are your current clients?

Due to the nature of the work we do, we can’t tell you who we work for – our clients require our absolute discretion. We can tell you that our clients come from a wide range of corporate backgrounds and include Mayfair jewellers, fine art auction houses, banking, insurance, TV, radio, medical, aerospace and ultra high net worth VIPs.

Do you work internationally?

Our UK-based drivers regularly carry or escort assets throughout the UK and to France, Spain, Monaco, Luxembourg and Italy. We’ve recently opened an office in Glasgow to extend our coverage of Scotland. We also have security teams in Paris and Nice who often convey assets into London.

Tell us more about the vehicles you use.

We own two Range Rovers armoured to Level BR6, as well as high-end saloon cars. This allows us to convey our precious cargo with it’s owners, or members of staff, to any address or airport without delay. Each and every one of our vehicles involved in asset protection has military grade tracking and high definition video cameras fitted. Both systems record everything to each vehicle. The live video and our exact location is streamed to a purpose built, high security control room. The images and our location are monitored, together with intel from the Metropolitan Police, for every secure move. Our exact route is geofenced prior to departure, with any deviation from the plan activating an alarm.

How do you ensure your drivers are trustworthy?

All of our security drivers are Former Police Royalty Protection Drivers holding the Home Office approved National Certificate in VIP Anti-Hijack Driving. Prior to being put forward for this course, they held the Police Class One Advanced Driving Certificate. John and two other members of staff are qualified Advanced Police Driving Instructors. This ensures that our in-house chauffeurs are trained to our exacting requirements. All drivers are licensed for private hire with the Public Carriage Office or their local Hackney Carriage Office. They also have to submit to a police check every year.

What makes Security Drivers International stand out from other firms in this field?

People come to us because we’re ISO9001 accredited and by using our services, our clients save significant amounts on their insurance premiums. We have the technology and expertise to ensure we provide the ultimate safety for your assets. Security is no accident – it has to be practiced.

INFO: london@securitydrivers.co.uk or 020 3393 2004 or www.securitydrivers.co.uk