It’s been another action-packed year here, with new faces, new contracts, new accreditations and new technology added to the business. In case you missed anything, here’s a roundup of our 2023 highlights…
We’ve added 700 new customers, and brought 528 new people into the team this year, including Matthew Baker, who joined us in the spring as group technical director to support our continued growth and accelerate our technical advancements in electronic security. We have also installed 1,000 new security systems and secured more than 600 new premises for customers across Yorkshire and beyond.
We are proud to have extended our National Security Inspectorate (NSI) accreditations, with the Silver Certificate of Approval for specialist services, which covers the provision of labour in the security and events sector. This latest seal of approval enhances our already extensive NSI approvals across the fire and security sectors. And, following our annual Security Industry Authority (SIA) inspection, we’ve maintained our position as a ‘Pacesetter’, putting us among the top 5% security companies in the UK.
The spring saw us continue our support for a project promoting women’s safety at night in Leeds city centre. Jennie Bell and Hope Anderson are involved in the Women’s Night Safe Space, which runs from 10pm to 3am every Saturday night. The mobile unit provides a safe space in the city centre for women and girls to seek refuge, emotional and practical support in the city centre at night if they feel concerned, unsafe, unwell or vulnerable, and we are proud to be involved in this important initiative.
Summer arrived with the installation of an innovative, bespoke security camera system at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium. The eight-camera system is protecting the club’s hybrid pitch and saving time and money by enabling maintenance work to be carried out without disrupting the running of the stadium.
You may also have seen our event safety steward Barry Lakin taking social media by storm this year with his jolly work ethic at Leeds City Council’s Millennium Square summer concerts, inspiring the hashtag #BeMoreBarry. Read more about him here.
We rounded off the summer in style, launching our brand new website and travelling to Scotland in August to provide security and safety services at the UCI World Cycling Championships. This exciting project involved more than 200 stewards keeping cyclists and spectators safe across Stirling and Dumfries.
Autumn saw our manned security team extend its work in York with the addition of Askham Bryan Agricultural and Animal Science College and York St John University to our client portfolio. We secured a three-year contract to provide staffed security for the main city centre York St John University campus and electronic security at Askham Bryan College - a great way to follow our City of York Council contract extension earlier in the year.
And we strengthened our work with the region’s universities even further in November, winning a new guarding contract at Leeds Beckett University.
We’re thrilled to round of the year with the news that we’ve hit our £10k fundraising target for our nominated charity, Martin House Children’s Hospice. Thank you to everyone in our team who has taken part in activities from Dragon Boat racing to conquering the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
Looking ahead, 2024 promises to bring more of the same. We have exciting growth plans, with new electronic security innovations and contracts in the pipeline. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, we wish you all the best for the festive season.