Imperial Security provides key holding and alarm response cover for homes and businesses across Highbury, from the Victorian terraces around Highbury Fields to the shops and offices near Highbury Corner and Highbury & Islington station.
We hold a coded set of your keys at our control centre and send a licensed guard to your door whenever an alarm activates, a contractor needs letting in, or your premises need checking outside normal hours. Property managers, retailers, landlords and residents use the service to cut out-of-hours call-outs without keeping a spare key with a neighbour or a member of staff.
Highbury is a dense mix of period conversions, purpose-built blocks and independent shops, and a lot of that stock now sits behind managing agents rather than a single owner on site. Highbury Square, the 650-flat development built into the former Arsenal stadium on Avenell Road, runs on communal services and a managed service charge but has no dedicated on-site security desk, which is typical of the area's larger residential blocks. When an alarm trips in a flat, a communal area or a ground-floor unit and there is no resident director or caretaker to attend, someone still has to get inside quickly and safely, and that is the gap our key holding service is built to close.
The same applies to the independent retailers and small offices around Highbury Corner and Holloway Road, many of which close before staff can guarantee they will be first back on site if an alarm goes off overnight. Rather than a director driving across London at 2am, our control centre despatches a local guard who already holds your keys and knows the property.
7 Day Rolling Contract
No hidden fees, hassle free, Flexible. Not locked into a long-term contract. Easy to scale up or down
Sector Specific Experience
Each security guard is selected based on experience relevant to that specific sector
Street Wise & Vigilant
Local, street-smart expertly trained to protect & deter threats. Confident & observant
| What Our Highbury Key Holding Service Provides
The service is built around the mix of converted period houses, managed blocks and small commercial units that make up Highbury.
Alarm response
When your alarm receiving centre signals an activation, we send a guard to attend, check the building and confirm whether it is a false alarm or a genuine break-in.
Secure key storage
Your keys are coded, catalogued and stored off-site at our control centre, so no address or name is ever attached to a key in storage.
Out-of-hours access
We let in contractors, cleaners or delivery drivers outside normal opening hours, so a director or manager does not have to attend in person.
Incident reporting
Every call-out is written up in an incident report, including time, findings and any action taken, so you and your insurer have a clear record.
Police and emergency liaison
Where a break-in is confirmed, our guard liaises with police on site and secures the property once they have finished, including arranging emergency boarding.
Coordination with other cover
Where a site also has CCTV monitoring or manned guarding in place, we coordinate our response with those teams rather than working in isolation.
| Who We Provide Key Holding For In Highbury
Our Highbury key holding clients tend to fall into four groups.
Managing agents and freeholders
Blocks such as those around Highbury Square rely on a service charge budget rather than an on-site security desk, so an out-of-hours alarm response needs to be contracted in.
Independent shops and cafes
The parades around Highbury Corner and along Holloway Road include many owner-run units without a second key holder nearby who can attend at short notice.
Small offices
Converted terraces and period buildings let out as office space near Highbury & Islington station typically close before every occupier can guarantee attendance if the alarm goes off.
Residents and landlords
Owners of houses around Highbury Fields who travel often, and landlords with let properties, use key holding so a trusted party rather than a neighbour holds a spare set.
We also provide key holding alongside our door supervision, CCTV monitoring and corporate security cover for clients who need more than one service in the same building.
| The Security Problems We Solve In Highbury
Highbury's housing stock is dominated by conversions, and its commercial units are mostly small and independently run. Both bring the same underlying issue: there is rarely a director, owner or caretaker who can be first on site within minutes of an alarm going off, particularly overnight or at weekends.
No one available to attend an alarm
Business owners living outside the area cannot always reach Highbury quickly when an alarm activates. We hold your keys locally and can be on site fast, day or night.
Spare keys held informally
A spare key left with a neighbour or member of staff is hard to track and easy to lose control of. Our storage is coded, logged and accessible only to authorised guards.
Managed blocks without a security desk
Larger developments such as Highbury Square run on communal service charges that cover cleaning and maintenance but not a dedicated security presence. Key holding fills that gap for alarm and access issues without the cost of a full-time desk.
Contractors needing access out of hours
Deliveries, cleaners and maintenance visits often fall outside opening hours. Our guards let contractors in and out under a logged access record, so nobody else needs to keep their own set of keys.
| Why Choose Imperial Security In Highbury
Local knowledge that speeds up response
Our guards know the layout around Highbury Fields, Highbury Corner and Highbury & Islington station, including where parking restrictions and one-way systems can slow down an unfamiliar responder. That local knowledge shaves minutes off attendance times.
We cover Highbury and the surrounding N1, N5 and N7 postcodes, alongside neighbouring areas including Canonbury, Islington and Holloway.
One point of contact for every incident
Rather than juggling separate alarm companies, locksmiths and security firms, you deal with one control centre that holds your keys, receives the alarm signal and despatches a guard.
Vetting, licensing and insurance
Every guard we place on a Highbury assignment meets our company standards.
- Valid SIA licensing: appropriate to the role & verified qualifications
- BS 7858 compliant vetting: five-year employment & education history
- Enhanced DBS checks: The level appropriate for your sector
- Professional reference verification: All previous security employers
- Insurance: Public liability, employers' liability & professional indemnity
- First aid trained: Emergency response & CPR certified
- ACT counter-terrorism awareness training: Threat recognition & response certified
| How Our Highbury Service Operates
01
Site survey and key collection
We visit your Highbury property to confirm access points, alarm details and any special instructions, then collect a coded set of keys.
02
Secure storage
Your keys are catalogued and stored at our control centre, with no address information attached, and access limited to authorised staff.
03
Alarm signal received
Your alarm receiving centre notifies our control centre the moment an activation is logged, day or night.
04
Guard despatched to site
A local guard already familiar with the streets around Highbury Fields and Highbury Corner is sent to attend, keys in hand.
05
Premises checked and secured
Our guard checks the building, resets the alarm where appropriate, and liaises with police if the activation is genuine.
06
Report sent to you
You receive a written incident report confirming what was found and any action taken, ready to pass to your insurer if needed.
Get your free Highbury key holding quote
Send us your address or postcode, the building type, when you need cover to start, your normal opening hours, the number of entrances, and what prompted the enquiry.
Call us on 0208 088 2878, or send your details through the quote form and we will come back to you with a written proposal.
Related services and nearby areas
See our full service page on key holding, or other cover in the area: all Highbury security services, CCTV monitoring in Highbury, corporate security in Highbury, key holding in Canonbury, key holding in Islington, key holding in Holloway.