Bodyguard Hire in London

Sectech supply bodyguards in London for a single event, a business visit, a trip or a few days when the risk is higher than usual. Each booking is planned around your itinerary by a close protection company based in Mayfair.

Tell us who needs protecting, where and when, and we will tell you what the protection should look like.

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Get in touch with Sectech today for a free, no obligation security consultation for your home. Call us on 0207 118 1168, email us on contactus@sectech-uk.com, or complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

How do I hire a bodyguard in the UK?

To hire a bodyguard in the UK, contact a close protection company and tell them who needs protecting, where and when, and what has prompted the request; the threat and the itinerary should be assessed before an officer or team is chosen and briefed. Anyone supplied under contract as a bodyguard must hold an SIA close protection licence, which you can check free on the SIA public register. Sectech UK supplies bodyguards from Old Bond Street in Mayfair for a single event, a business visit or a few days, in London, the home counties, other UK cities and abroad.

Below: the four steps of a booking, what the law requires and how to check a licence, what decides the cost (every booking is quoted individually), including what decides the cost of a close protection officer per day in London, and when ongoing protection suits you better than a bodyguard.

A close protection officer in a dark coat and gloves

Short-term and event bodyguards

A Bodyguard for the Days That Matter

Not everyone needs protection every day. Many people need it for a particular occasion: a premiere or a launch, a court appearance, a shareholder meeting, a high-profile wedding, a week of meetings in London, or the days after a threat or unwanted press attention. A private bodyguard for those days gives you protection when you need it, without a permanent team.

A personal bodyguard stays close, watches the people and the space around you, and moves you away from trouble before it reaches you. For a larger event, a longer visit or a family, the booking can be a small team rather than one officer, with a security chauffeur to cover the journeys in between.

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How booking works

How Bodyguard Hire Works

1. Enquiry

Call, email or use the enquiry form. Tell us who needs protecting, the dates, the places and anything that has prompted the request.

2. Assessment of the threat and the itinerary

Before anyone is booked, the threat and the plan for each day are looked at together: who might be interested in you and why, the venues, the routes between them, and the points where you are most exposed, such as arrivals, departures and crowds. The assessment decides how many officers are needed and what kind.

3. Briefing

The officer or team is briefed on you, your itinerary and your preferences: how close to stay, who else is in your party, and how you like to be addressed in company. Venues and routes are looked at in advance wherever the timetable allows.

4. Deployment

Protection starts at the agreed time and place, whether that is the airport, your hotel or your front door. Plans leave room for the unplanned, so a change of mind over dinner does not leave you exposed, and the booking ends when you are safely home or on your way.

Licensing

Licensing: What the Law Requires

In the UK, a bodyguard supplied under contract needs a close protection licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. A licence lasts three years, and the SIA keeps a public register of every licence holder.

Whoever you hire, ask to see the bodyguard’s licence and check it on the register at gov.uk/check-a-private-security-licence. It takes a minute, and it is the simplest way to know who is standing beside you.

A licence is the minimum, not the whole answer. Our guide on how to choose a close protection company covers the other questions to ask, from how officers are screened to who leads the work.

A security officer facing a crowd at an event

Cost

What Decides the Cost of a Bodyguard

There is no standard rate, because no two bookings carry the same risk. Each is quoted individually once the itinerary is known. These are the things that decide it:

Threat level: a known, specific threat calls for more planning and more officers than general reassurance.
Number of officers: one bodyguard, or a team for a family, an entourage or a large venue.
Hours and duration: an evening, a full day or several days, and whether cover runs overnight.
Travel: journeys outside London, overseas travel and the officers’ own travel and accommodation.
Vehicles: whether a car and a trained security driver are part of the booking.
Short notice: the less time there is to plan, the more it takes to plan well.

Our guide to how much a bodyguard costs goes through each factor, and how to compare quotes like for like.

Cost per day

How much does a close protection officer cost per day in London?

There is no fixed cost per day for a close protection officer or bodyguard in London: every booking is quoted individually. The cost of a day depends on the level of threat, how many officers that calls for, how long the day runs and whether cover continues overnight, the planning done before the day, and whether a vehicle and a trained security driver are part of it. Sectech UK quotes bodyguard and close protection bookings in London from its office on Old Bond Street in Mayfair once the itinerary and the threat are known.

Why one day can need more than one officer

One officer can look after one person for part of a day. When protection runs from an early start to a late finish, covers several people, or carries on overnight at a home or hotel, it needs officers working in shifts, so that nobody is on duty for too long to stay alert. A day of protection can therefore mean two or more people, and that, more than anything, decides what the day costs.

What a day in London can include

Planning before the day: looking at the venues, the routes between them and the points where you are most exposed, such as arrivals, departures and crowds.
The hours on duty: an evening, a working day, or a day that runs into the night.
The journeys: a car and a trained security driver, or protection in your own vehicle.
The number of places: a single venue is simpler to cover than a day of meetings, lunches and an evening event across town.
Notice: a day booked well ahead can be planned properly; a day booked for tomorrow takes more to put together.

Questions to ask with any quote for a day

How many officers, for how many hours, and on what shift pattern?
Is the planning before the day included, and who does it?
Are travel, expenses and any vehicle included, or extra?
Does each officer hold an SIA close protection licence? Ask for the licence numbers and check them free on the SIA’s public register.
Who stands in if an officer is ill on the day?

Two quotes for “one bodyguard for a day” can describe very different work. Our guide explains how to compare bodyguard quotes like for like, and what a cheap quote usually leaves out.

Bodyguard or close protection

When You Need More Than a Bodyguard

A bodyguard booking covers a defined period: an event, a visit, a trip. When the risk is ongoing, or protection needs to run through every part of daily life, from the home to the school run to travel abroad, it becomes close protection: a planned service with risk assessment, route planning and a team that knows the family. For some people a bodyguard for one occasion is all they need; for others it is the first step towards a longer plan.

Where

Bodyguard Services in London and Beyond

Sectech are based on Old Bond Street in Mayfair and supply bodyguards across London, including Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington, Chelsea, Belgravia, Marylebone, the West End, Westminster, Hampstead and Richmond. Bookings also cover the home counties, from Surrey and Berkshire to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire, other UK cities, and travel abroad.

frequently asked questions

Bodyguard hire in London

How do I hire a bodyguard in London?

Call 0207 118 1168, email contactus@sectech-uk.com or use the enquiry form on this page. Tell us who needs protecting, where and when, and anything that has prompted the request. The threat and the itinerary are then assessed, the officer or team is chosen and briefed, and protection starts at the agreed time and place.

Do bodyguards in the UK need a licence?

Yes. Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, anyone supplied under contract to protect a person in the UK needs a close protection licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Licences last three years. You can check any bodyguard's licence on the SIA register at https://www.gov.uk/check-a-private-security-licence.

What decides the cost of hiring a bodyguard?

The level of threat, the number of officers needed, the hours each day and the number of days, any travel, whether vehicles and a security driver are part of the booking, and how much notice there is. Every booking is quoted individually once the itinerary is known.

Can I hire a bodyguard for one day or one event?

Yes. A bodyguard can be booked for a single event, an evening, a day of meetings or a short visit to London, as well as for longer periods. The planning is the same whatever the length: the venue, the route and the people around you are looked at before the day.

Will a bodyguard travel with me outside London?

Yes. Bookings can cover the home counties, other UK cities and travel abroad, and the officer can travel with you. Sectech work across Europe and further afield, as the list of places at the foot of this page shows.

Will a bodyguard be discreet?

That is the aim. Officers are chosen for the setting as well as the threat, dress to suit the occasion, and work to keep attention away from you rather than drawing it, so you feel safe without feeling overwhelmed.

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