Three quarters of UK corporate headquarters are situated in areas with a higher than average risk profile

(10/06/2008)

According to G4S Security Services (UK), the headquarters of three quarters of FTSE 350 companies are situated in areas with a higher than normal risk of crime. The G4S Corporate Risk Report, which uses data from CAP Index’s CRIMECAST® system, reveals that of the FTSE 350’s 20 most vulnerable locations for company headquarters, half are situated outside London.

G4S has analysed the potential vulnerability of the headquarters of every FTSE 350 company, highlighting the importance of risk mapping when companies decide where to locate. The system combines criminology information such as police incident data and client loss reports with statistics and demographic data (such as population and housing data) to produce measurable CAP Index Scores. Categories for the CAP Scores include crime risk for violence, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft, fraud, criminal damage, crimes against property and drug related activities.

The results reveal that on a sector basis, the prevalence of telecommunications companies in high risk areas means that this sector has an average CAP Index score of 489, almost five times the CAP Index base of 100, demonstrating its relative vulnerability to crime risk. At the other end of the scale, companies in the Technology Hardware & Equipment sector are least at risk with an average CAP Index score of just 48.

Sectors with highest and lowest average CAP Index scores (CAP Index base is 100):
Ranking Sector of company Average Cap Index score for sector
Five sectors most at risk
Telecommunications 489
Retailers 402
General Financial 329
Tobacco 314
Oil & Gas Producers 308
Five sectors least at risk
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 138
Aerospace & Defence 123
Household Goods 120
Electricity 64
Technology Hardware & Equipment 48
Source: CRIMECAST® from CAP Index, March 2008

The company with the single worst CAP Index rating is a ‘General Financial’ firm with a CAP Index score of 809, more than eight times the CAP Index base. This company is located in an area with an individual CAP Index rating of 1031 for violent crime; 893 for sexual crime and 1570 for fraud – in other words, the risk of fraud is nearly 16 times higher than the UK national average.

At the other end of the scale, the headquarters of a company in the ‘Technology Hardware & Equipment’ sector scored a CAP Index of just 8, due to its low risk location with comparable scores of 16 for violent crime, 16 for sexual crime and 15 for fraud.

Douglas Greenwell, Sales & Marketing Director of G4S Security Services (UK) said: “These findings highlight some of the risks companies should consider when selecting where to locate their corporate headquarters. Given the current threat of terrorism, it is particularly relevant that three quarters of UK corporate headquarters are situated in areas with a higher than average risk profile.

“The CRIMECAST® system can play an important part in helping companies assess where the greatest threat to their business is likely to come from and to then devise appropriate measures to mitigate the risk.”

Jon Groussman, President and COO of CAP Index commented: “This is the first time we’ve used the CRIMECAST® system to analyse the risk profile of FTSE 350 company headquarters. Our analysis takes into account a wide range of crime and social statistics to produce a map of the postcodes with the highest risk profile. This type of crime forecasting is popular with many FORTUNE 500 companies in the US and we are now seeing more interest from UK corporates.”

Regionally, Leeds/Bradford and Birmingham had the most companies with high CAP Index scores followed by Glasgow with companies located in Somerset, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire faring best in terms of their low risk profiles.

Related topics:  Crime and Fraud Prevention   Security guarding 

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