History

When his wife got locked out with three young children in the early 1990s and had to call eight different locksmith companies until someone finally picked up the phone, Chris Cossell could hardly believe it.

He asked a London research centre to provide him with a report about the London locksmith market. Their conclusion, spread over a 50 page in-depth report was a riveting read, even today, after nearly two decades have passed.

In terms of locksmithing, London proved to be a real service desert. Locksmith firms were generally small and Dickensian, protective about their trade, rough in their demeanour and, worse, generally unavailable for work. The researchers collected countless testimonies from frustrated users who couldn't get the help and quality service they needed.

Clearly, things could only get better for the deprived London customers, and so 1st Metropolitan Locksmiths Ltd was born. Since then www.metrolocks.co.uk has never looked back.

Wherever the job may be within Greater London, one of our locksmiths can usually attend within 30 to 60 minutes or less. All locksmiths work locally thus avoiding long and expensive travel to the job sites.

This formula has allowed us to react quickly und fuss-free to local needs, and has made us the ideal counterpart to satisfy the requirements of all kinds of multi-outlet shops, maintenance companies, charities, estate agents, local and other governmental organizations and, of course, all local residents and companies throughout town.

Our head office is based near Clerkenwell, the old lock-making district of London. Europe's largest lock and security wholesaler is a mere 500 yards away, making this the ideal spot from which to run an efficient service web across London and beyond. It is from here that our nationwide mail order key-cutting service is run.

1st Metropolitan Locksmith Ltd is managed by Chris Cossell, who is a strong believer in the virtues of fully supporting and adhering to the Aims and Objects of the Master Locksmiths Association, the industry's self-regulating body.

The company is a proud member of the London Chamber of Commerce and has been successfully vetted by one of the UK's most important institutional vetting bodies, Constructionline.