A report was in the November print issue of Professional Security.
A two-year contract with the City of Westminster College, for the management and provision of manned security, key holding and alarm response services, and worth £400,000 a year, went to MITIE. Security services at five sites in inner north west London are tailored to meet the local needs, the contractor reports. Security officers work as part of the college’s day to day operational staff; their front of house function includes meeting, welcoming and directing guests and dealing with incidents of student discipline. Robin Pellett, Head of Facilities Management and Building Services for the college, said: “It was time to change our security provider to a progressive company that has, as a core ethos, client empathy, value towards their staff and the welfare and progression of those they employ. MITIE has, in its short tenure, taken on the existing employees and begun a training programme that is already showing improvements; the structure and ethos of work has been enhanced, as has the professionalism of the guards; the students themselves have noticed a tangible difference. What‚s more, the Group’s professional approach can readily be called upon to provide answers and solutions to any issues that arise.”
About the firm
MITIE describes itself as a multi-disciplinary support services company, providing services to customers both in the public and private sectors. Its services portfolio ranges from Engineering Maintenance, Facilities Management and Security to Cleaning, Landscaping and Fit-out. MITIE now employs over 39,000 people across the UK and has a turnover exceeding £935m (March 2006). MITIE is an acronym for Management Incentive Through Investment Equity. MITIE Security is the division within MITIE that specialises in providing contract guarding, remote monitoring, key holding, patrol and alarm response services, electronic security and gallery attendants across the UK. Following the recent acquisition of Initial Security Limited (Initial Security UK), the UK manned guarding business of Rentokil Initial plc, MITIE reports that its security arm became the second largest manned guarding business in the UK employing over 9,000 officers. Initial Security UK brought over 6,000 employees in 18 branches across the UK.
