A contract from Hammerson Management Services Ltd to provide security and customer services officers at five shopping centres in the Midlands and southern England has gone to The Shield Guarding Company.
The five are Westquay, Southampton; The Oracle, Reading; Brent Cross, north London; The Liberty, Romford; and The Shires, Leicester.
Robert Hall, head of Hammerson Management Services, said: "It is just reward for achieving the status as the SIA’s first approved contractor. I am delighted with the approach taken by The Shield team who showed genuine innovation as well as the ability to manage a project of this size to time and to budget. This presents a true partnership approach between centre managements and the head office teams of Shield and Hammerson.
Stuart Kedward, Shield HR director, praised his team, and the relationship with Hammerson’s staff, which allowed for the training, vetting and licensing mobilisation over what he called a remarkably short time. Peter Kroeger, chief executive officer of the London-based guarding firm, said: "This really does show that we have the capability to move fast and to devise solutions outside the box. It also proves that our support for, and investment in, the whole regulatory process, from creating the licensing capability in 2004, to licensing our officers steadily throughout 2005, from being involved in the approved contractor standard user group to preparing our approved contractor scheme submission and completing it soon after the completion date, was the right strategy and that it has helped us grow in status and in size."
