The short answer
A keyholding service holds a set of your keys securely and attends your site in place of your own staff when the alarm activates or something needs a person there out of hours. The response officer checks the building, finds out what set the alarm off, secures the site, resets the system where agreed, and calls the police if there is a crime — so you are only called when there is genuinely something you need to know.
Why businesses use one
- Staff safety. Sending an employee alone to an alarm at night, possibly with an intruder still on site, is a real risk — and one you are responsible for.
- Insurance and police requirements. Many insurers, and police response policies, expect named keyholders who can attend within a set time. A professional service meets that reliably.
- Fewer wasted nights. Most activations are false. A response officer deals with them so your managers do not have to get out of bed for a spider.
How keys are held
Keys should be held under secure, audited conditions: coded rather than labelled with your address, stored in a secure facility, and signed out and back in every time they are used. A provider should be able to tell you exactly how they do this.
Licensing
In the UK, keyholding carried out under contract is a licensable activity: the officers who hold and use your keys should hold an SIA licence that covers key holding — a Key Holding, Security Guarding or Door Supervisor licence. It is reasonable to ask a provider to confirm this.
What to ask a provider
- How quickly can you reach my site, and is that your own team or a subcontractor?
- How are keys stored, coded and audited?
- What will the officer do on arrival, and what will they report back?
- Who decides when to call the police, and when to call me?
How we do it
Our own response teams work from bases in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Surrey and London, and South Wales; for sites further afield we will tell you plainly how we would cover them. Every activation is assessed in our control centre first, so an officer is sent when it is needed and you are called when it matters.
Talk it through with us
Every site is different. Tell us about yours and we will tell you plainly what we would do.