The chief executive of Allied Universal has put the companys multibillion-dollar public listing on hold as the worlds largest private security group tackles hiring problems and rides out the turmoil in markets.

The last 10 to 12 months have been really choppy waters for public markets, so were very comfortable just continuing to remain private, said chief executive Steve Jones. Allied, the worlds biggest employer of private security guards employing 800,000 people, has been hit by recruitment problems in a tight labour market and rate rises that have damped the mood for listings in the US.

The crisis engulfing the banking sector has also compounded already challenging conditions for fundraising, creating greater uncertainty in the markets and the economy. Jones had previously said a US listing of the worlds seventh largest employer and North Americas third biggest in an expected multibillion-dollar transaction was possible by May 2024, butthat timeline has been paused.

Stephen Rawlinson, analyst at Applied Value, said Allied Universals enterprise value, including debt, could be between $15bn and $17bn.It partly depends on whether Allied Universal can argue that it has market power as the global leader and is therefore worth a premium, he said. Jones said labour shortages had eased, although it was still a tight market following the pandemic, which createdthe biggest challenge weve faced really in my 25-year career for recruiting.

He said the US governments stimulus programmes rolled out at the height of the pandemic hampered the companys ability to attract and hold on to workers.Weve had low unemployment rates in the past, but we really havent faced a situation where people were provided with some sort of government subsidies to be able not to work, he said. However, he said he wasseeing conditions begin [to] improve in terms of new applicant flow and new hires.

Referring to the delay in the IPO, he said:There are many factors for us to considerA??.A??.A??.A??including general economic uncertainty, fear of recession and significant increases in interest rates over the past year. Allied acquired UK-listed security group G4S in 2021 during a spree of acquisitions. The deal was backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.