The most common sight across UK commercial sites is security shutters. With a shutter, the glazed shopfront doesn’t have to face a brick through it (or a crowbar), and neither does a warehouse loading bay. And a shutter can prevent a school’s ground floor from being vandalized. Specified for the threat, the right shutter can be the difference between a closed business and a £40,000 insurance claim.
This is a subcategory of security doors. Related pages include security grilles, lps 1175 rated doors, and anti-vandal doors.
Aluminium vs Steel
The first major step is a material choice. The two materials are completely different when it comes to weight, cost, and protection.
Aluminium shutters are the lighter, cheaper, and more easily motorized option. 55-77mm curtain laths are extruded aluminum, and are typically powder-coated in a color of your choice. The laths are also used in retail shopfronts, light commercial buildings, and where the threat is more opportunistic. Aluminium shutters are also available in a more insulated lath. The security spec is not insulation, and is more likely resistance to forced entry.
Steel shutters are heavier and more expensive than aluminum shutters. They’re also significantly tougher to defeat. Steel shutters use galvanized steel lath, usually either 100mm or 122mm in width, with optional powder coating on the galvanizing. Due to the tougher nature of these steel shutters compared to the aluminum and how the steel shutter cannot just be easily replaced in the wall frame, motor, and side guides for the shutters are required to be designed for the weight of the curtain. They are used for higher value premises such as secure storage, distribution centers and any situation in which the shutter needs to withstand a repeated attack.
Aluminum shutters are usually adequate for most shopfronts, while for secure compounds, warehouses, and back of house of high value retail, steel shutters are recommended.
Curtain Types
There are several lath profiles for shutters, and the type of lath profile needs to be carefully selected, as they provide differing visibility and security levels.
Solid Lath – continuous lath, no openings. Provides maximum security, as there can be no visibility, and no light, pass through the curtain. Used for warehouses and storage and are the default choice unless there are reasons otherwise.
Perforated Lath – smaller, pressed openings. Provides light and visibility pass through the lath, while curtain still resists entry. This is usually used in high street retail as insurers and landlords need visibility, as the curtains otherwise keep the location closed and dark. When breaking in is not done in a planned and sustained manner, this is adequate.
Punched Window Lath – large openings contain polycarbonate panels in the curtain. Allows for window shopping through the curtain. This adds price and complexity to the curtain, and should only be used when the signage has actual value.
Brick-bond or interlocking profiles — lath designs that overlap to eliminate the gap between laths and are intended to make a more solid and secure face panel. Used for high-security applications.
LPS ratings and certified products
A standard galvanised steel shutter will keep opportunists at bay. For sites such as distribution centres, ATM cashpoint enclosures, secure storage, sites with a history of repeated attacks, the specification needs to be certified and not just heavy.
LPS 1175 is the standard. Ratings range from SR1, (attacker with no tools who makes a brief and abortive attempt) to SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5 and then up to SR8, the highest threat.
For commercial security shutters, SR2 and SR3 are generally sufficient for the majority of reasonably anticipated threats beyond abnormal and opportunistic threats. SR2 will stop a brief and abortive untool based attempt whereas SR3 will stop attacks utilizing crowbars and bolt cropper hardened tools. Threats classed above SR3 will usually justify the expenditure on sites that are designed for high security and significant value.
Certified shutters are a curtain, guides, a drum, a fixing and a motor that all have to be certified. A SR2 certified curtain suspended from guides that are not certified means that the rating of the certified curtain is therefore null and void. The product is a curtain, guides, a drum, a fixing, and a motor that all have to be certified.
Insurance and compliance
Insurers have three concerns with commercial shutters:
Do they exist at all? A glazed shopfront without shutters is uninsurable in some postcodes. Standard policy wordings increasingly require security shutters as a condition of cover.
Whether they’re rated. Some insurance companies require shutters to be LPCB-approved or rated to LPS 1175. Cheaper, non-certified shutters might be accepted at lower-risk premises, but a larger premium is likely.
Whether they’re operational. Shutters that haven’t been used in six months and cannot be closed on demand are inadequate for security. During a claim, insurers may examine this. It is beneficial to have a maintenance contract that includes test-cycle documentation.
A site undergoing a security audit (for insurance, PCI compliance, or an ISO 27001 physical security review) will require the specification documents, certificates, and maintenance records.
Operation and access
For shutters less than 3m wide with a low cycle rate, manual chain operation is acceptable. For shutters larger than 3m wide, electric operation is preferred.
The options for electric operation include:
- Push-button control (standard for staff operation)
- Key switch (for restricted access)
- Remote control (handheld)
- Time-clock (scheduled automatic open/close, common in retail)
- Access control integration (card or fob entry)
- Integration with building management systems
Regardless of the motor type, a manual emergency override (a hand chain or pull cord) is required. This allows the shutter to be operated in a power failure. Failing to provide this is a compliance issue under PUWER.
What It Costs
UK fitted prices in 2026 for single-bay commercial security shutters are:
- Manual Aluminium Shopfront Shutter, 3m wide: £1,100–£1,800
- Electric Aluminium, 3–4m wide, Perforated Lath: £2,200–£3,500
- Electric Steel, 3–4m wide, Solid Lath, Mid-Spec: £3,500–£5,500
- LPS 1175 SR2 Certified, 3–4m wide: £6,500–£10,000
- LPS 1175 SR3 Certified, Full Assembly: £9,000–£15,000+
The costs of larger openings, multi-bay installs, and specialized applications increase. Maintenance contracts are $180–$400 per shutter per year and depend on cycle rate and certification level.
What To Avoid
The most common mistakes in specifying security shutter systems are:
Auto specifying Aluminium when the threat profile demands Steel. Sure the shutter looks the part, but it they didn’t stop the break-in, they were not up to the job. You learn what you should have bought the hard way.
Buying a certified curtain but fitting it to non-certified guides or a non-certified motor. The entire product must match the lath rating.
Freqeuently, no maintenance schedule. The shutter, stuck closed on Monday morning, was a £2,000 call out and a day of lost trade. Again, the bearing, the motor, and the seal. If the maintenance contracts are set to six months, the wear is caught before it is too late.
Most frequently, insufficient insurance coverage. Check the policy wording. It may already require a specific rating or list some suppliers. Before specifying the less expensive product, it’s a worthwhile check.
Fitted a properly rated shutter the insurance is rated to, and maintained, it will last 15–20 years before major refurbishment. Without maintenance six to eight. The curtain itself almost never fails. The motor, the springs, the guides, or the controls, always do.