10 min read · Updated 13 August 2026
Security Fencing Cost Guide for Commercial Sites
A budget document for facilities managers: mesh against palisade per metre, what gates and toppings add, and the compliance costs most quotes leave out.
Budget figures you can take to a purchase order
For a commercial perimeter in 2026, budget £95 to £165 per metre for 358 anti climb weld mesh and £110 to £190 for steel palisade, both fitted and both at the common 2.4m commercial height. Twin wire mesh at 868 or 656 sits at the bottom of that mesh range and should only be used where climb resistance is not the point.
Going from 2.4m to 3.0m adds roughly 20 to 30 percent, because you are paying for taller posts, deeper foundations and more panel. Anti climb toppings such as rotating spikes or barbed extension arms add £15 to £35 per metre.
Mesh or palisade: the cost of the wrong choice
Mesh is cheaper and keeps sightlines open for CCTV. Palisade costs more and is far harder to defeat with hand tools, but it blocks the view your cameras rely on. Choosing on price alone is how sites end up buying a perimeter that undermines a system they already paid for.
A common and sensible split is palisade on the road frontage where deterrence and forced entry are the risk, and mesh along the camera covered flanks. Two specifications on one site is normal and usually costs less than over specifying the whole run.
Gates are a separate line, always
Manual gates start at £1,800 fitted. Automated swing pairs run £4,500 to £9,000. Cantilever sliding gates run £7,500 to £18,000 depending on span, cladding and access control. Any quote that folds gates into a per metre rate is hiding something, because a gate is the most expensive metre of any perimeter.
Automation carries obligations as well as cost: safety edges, photocells, force testing and a Declaration of Conformity. Budget for those rather than discovering them at handover.
The costs that only appear on live sites
Hand digging near buried services, out of hours or weekend working, phasing so the perimeter is never open overnight, temporary heras across open sections, and inductions. On a school this also means term time programming. None of these are optional on a working site, and all of them belong on the quote.
Ground is the other variable. Made ground on a former industrial plot, or clay that needs a wider foundation collar, changes the groundworks cost significantly, which is why we survey before committing to a programme date.
What a facilities manager should check first
Insurance before anything else. We carry £5m public liability and £10m employers liability, issued with task specific RAMS and CSCS records before mobilisation. Then check the specification is written down: mesh profile or pale section, height, post centres, foundation detail, topping and gate hardware.
Every commercial install we complete comes with a written workmanship guarantee alongside the manufacturer cover. Call 07538 218723 for a site survey and a written specification you can price against other tenders line by line.