The contractor Mitie has won a security contract with the Bank of England, after a competitive tender process. The contract is initially for three years with the option to extend for a further two years.
The contract firm will provide manned guarding services for the Bank of England’s home in the City of London, as well as its site in Debden, Essex. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 as private bank to the UK government and moved to Threadneedle Street in 1734.
Jason Towse, Managing Director, Security, Mitie, pictured, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by the Bank of England to deliver crucial guarding services at its sites, including at the iconic Threadneedle Street site in the City of London. As the UK’s leading intelligence and tech-led security business, we are well placed to keep the sites safe and secure for such a prestigious client.”
Separately, Mitie has been chosen to provide technology-led security services to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A five-year contract marks the first time HMRC has combined all its security services under one provider. The move to a single provider across a number of HMRC’s UK sites is part of a ten-year transformation programme, and is described as the largest office modernisation programme ever in the UK.
Mitie will provide security services for HMRC regional centres from Croydon to Belfast. The contractor says HMRC will benefit from dedicated resources that are able to respond to incidents such as UK threat-level changes. It will also have access to counter-terrorism and security intelligence subject matter experts based at Mitie’s newly launched Global Security Operation Centre (GSOC), in Northampton. The GSOC will monitor local threat intelligence as part of what the contractor calls a multi-layered approach and holistic security service.
The contract will include the use of the security firm’s secure online security task and incident management system, Merlin, which is designed to give better visibility over incident management and create paperless audit trails, across customer buildings and locations.
The contractor has also pledged to hire a fifth (20pc) of its employees on the contract from ex-military backgrounds. This is part of the business’ commitment to support more individuals from the armed forces, and follows the recent launch of a new Armed Forces Career Portal. Apprentices will make up at least 10 per cent of employees on the contract, aligning with the government’s target to increase the number of apprenticeships in the UK. Mitie adds that it gained the contract after its appointment to the Crown Commercial Service framework for Security in April.
Jason Towse, Managing Director, Security, Mitie, said: “It is a real privilege to have been selected to support HMRC’s transformation programme and bring our technology-led approach to enhance its overall security offer.”
