The Last Word with Ranger Fire & Security: Inside Ranger’s acquisition driven growth strategy
Iain Hoey
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Mark Bridges, CEO of Ranger Fire & Security talks transforming the fire and security sector through strategic acquisition
Can you give us a brief introduction to Ranger Fire & Security?
Ranger Fire & Security was established in February 2024 to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the fire and security sector.
A small group of us, all with significant industry experience, could see the huge amount of talent and expertise but also how fragmented the sector is.
Keeping up with rules and regulations while competing with other businesses means many are forced to specialise in a small number of services.
It means they often provide these services to a very high standard, but it also makes it difficult to scale.
Ranger was created to change that.
We’ve brought together high-performing businesses from across the UK and Ireland, enabling them to share resources, expertise and cross-selling opportunities.
By uniting these strong, specialist companies, we’re building a truly national, one-stop solution for all fire and security needs.
What would you say sets Ranger apart from others in the market right now?
There’s a lot, but one of the biggest differences is our approach to acquisitions.
When a business joins Ranger, it keeps its brand, identity and leadership team.
We’re acquiring their expertise and the strong reputations they’ve built as local heroes, so why would we want to change that? Instead, we help them elevate what they already do well and support them in delivering an even higher level of service, both to existing and new customers.
How has your strategy of acquiring specialist firms shaped your service offering?
Our acquisition strategy has allowed us to expand our service offering rapidly and consistently.
We launched just under two years ago with two companies: Ignis Fire Protection, specialising in fire detection and security, and AFIL, focused on vehicle and kitchen suppression systems.
Since then, through steady acquisitions, including most recently PDSL and Universal, we’ve grown to offer fire alarms, fire doors, lighting and CCTV, sprinkler systems, fireproofing, extinguishers, risk assessments and much more.
This breadth of expertise is central to our goal of becoming the one-stop shop for everyone’s fire and security needs.
What’s next for Ranger as you look ahead to the next stage of development?
We’ve acquired 13 businesses across the UK and Ireland in under two years, and we’re only just getting started.
With ambitious plans for 2026, we aim to welcome many more high-performing, customer-focused businesses into Ranger.
In establishing Ranger, we’ve reviewed hundreds of businesses to date across the UK and Ireland, selecting only the best to join the Group.
But we know there are many more exceptional companies out there.
If you believe yours is one of them, we’d love to talk.
Together, we can transform the fire and security sector for the benefit of both businesses and their customers.
Is your business ready to join Ranger? Get in touch: [email protected]