John Roddy Chief Executive The Shield Group
The company will provide security services to both campuses during and beyond the university’s £138million transformation
Vigilance can report that the Shield Group, the UK’s largest independent Total Security Solutions provider has been awarded a £3.6 million contract to provide security services at Bournemouth University over the course of 10 years.
According to a source at the Shield Group says the deal comes at a significant time for the 17,000-strong university, which is in the midst of a £138 million transformation that will further enhance its status as a leading international institution. The university is renowned for having one of the highest graduate employment rates in the UK, at more than 90 per cent.
Vigilance learnt the Shield Group, a multi award-winning company which has been at the forefront of the UK’s security industry since its inception 25 years ago, won the contract following the recent launch of a dedicated division for manned guarding.
Shield Group will provide 13 skilled security guards to patrol the university’s two campuses, where they will manage student residences and lecture halls, with key responsibilities covering static guarding, reception services, entrance protection and car park management. Security at the widely-anticipated £10.5million student centre, called the Students’ Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU), will also be provided by the company once construction is complete.
The contract, which began on 1st April 2014, represents the eighth university in Shield’s growing portfolio of educational partners, an area that the Group hopes to develop even further in the future. With the addition of the University of Bournemouth, the fiscal size of Shield’s higher education portfolio now amounts to more than £3.2million per year. Other prominent universities Shield currently provide its services to include Cranfield University, New York University (London), The University of Portsmouth and The University of West London.
Heading the project will be Stuart Macleod, Regional Director at Shield. Stuart began his career as a microbiologist and subsequently worked in accountancy, before taking his career up at Shield, where he has worked for over 16 years in senior management. He currently oversees a team of Contract Managers that stretches from Portsmouth across to Wales and Scotland.
Stuart Macleod said: “Following a highly competitive tender exercise, we are delighted to partner with the University of Bournemouth to provide our comprehensive customer first approach security services. We will be integrating our manpower and latest technological systems to create a safe and healthy environment across both campuses centred on the well-being of students, staff and visitors.
“We are looking forward to working closely with the University over the next 10 years, and I am particularly proud to be leading the project. I hope to see this close partnership go from strength to strength as it progresses.”
Mr John Roddy, Chief Executive of The Shield Group, added: “Our understanding of the very particular requirements of the education sector combined with our Total Security Solutions approach has enabled us to develop genuine partnerships with a growing number of education institutions in recent years. This is an area of special importance to us as we are fully adept to the complex needs of education and able to achieve the many challenging targets of this sector. We anticipate we will expand our presence in this field even further in the coming years.”
With projected sales of over £80 million for the fiscal year 2014-15, The Shield Group has been undergoing a major transformation since it was taken over in 2012 by India’s leading and largest security company, TOPSGRUP. Late last year, The Shield Group launched four strategic verticals combining traditional man-power and innovative technology, to deliver intelligent, risk-based Total Security Solutions (TSS) to its customers.
