Croma Security Solutions Group (AIM:CSSG), the AIM-listed locksmith and security services provider, has completed the acquisition of A. Butler & Sons, a commercial locksmith business trading as William Channon.
The deal gives Croma its first strategic foothold in London, a market it has not previously operated in permanently.
William Channon, founded in 1917, provides commercial locksmith services and access control systems, with a client base concentrated among London museums and universities. In the 12 months to 31 December 2025, the business recorded unaudited turnover of £1.1 million and a pre-tax loss of £0.06 million, with net assets of £1.1 million including £0.64 million in cash.
Consideration is expected at £1 million, based on net asset value at completion and subject to completion accounts, funded in cash from Croma's existing resources.
An initial £600,000 was paid on completion, with the balance due once the seller's intra-group loan is repaid and the completion accounts are finalised.
Croma said William Channon is trading below its profit potential, and plans to strip out duplicated overheads while cross-selling its broader security services to the target's larger corporate clients.
"We believe the business has strong potential to become a valuable and profitable part of the Group", said Roberto Fiorentino, Croma's chief executive.
Jim Caldwell, the sole vendor and outgoing managing director, will remain on a three-month consultancy basis to support the handover.
The acquisition follows Croma's 2023 sale of its manned guarding business Vigilant for £6.5 million, proceeds it has since used to fund expansion of its 19-strong security centre network across southern England, the Midlands and the North West.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Croma has completed its £1.0 million acquisition of William Channon, a London-based commercial locksmith founded in 1917, funded from cash reserves. The deal marks Croma's first permanent London presence and adds a business that recorded £1.1 million turnover but a £0.06 million pre-tax loss in the 12 months to end-2025; Croma plans to strip duplicated overheads and cross-sell its broader security services to William Channon's corporate client base (museums and universities). This is Croma's sixth locksmith acquisition since divesting its manned guarding business Vigilant in 2023.
The acquisition is small relative to Croma's scale—the £1.0 million consideration represents less than 10% of the group's expected FY2026 revenue of £11.0 million—and targets a loss-making business, so the near-term earnings impact is immaterial. The strategic case rests on management's ability to realise stated overhead savings and cross-sell into an established London client base; execution risk is material given William Channon's recent losses, though the three-month retention of the outgoing managing director provides some continuity.
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