Axis Security is widely recognised as one of the UK’s fastest-growing security service providers. The acquisition of the business four years ago by a proven and dynamic management team – headed up by group management director Jonathan Levine and group sales director David Mundell – duly resulted in significant organic growth.
In fact, the original GB pound 2 million turnover business is now worth upwards of GB pound 36 million, and 175 security officers have been joined by a further 1,300. A systems business now runs alongside the core guarding solutions operation, which has itself morphed into a nationwide proposition.
To enhance linkages with the company’s customer base, for some time now Levine and Mundell have organised business briefings on a variety of topics.
The latest – which took place at the Institute of Directors on London’s Pall Mall on Tuesday of this week – set out to inform customers in respect of the latest news on the future of private sector regulation and security preparedness for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Regulation: the achievements to date
Following a brief welcome from Jonathan Levine, first to present a discourse was Andrew Shephard, assistant director at the Security Industry Authority responsible for the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS).
Initially, Shephard was keen to focus on the achievements to date of Security Industry Authority regulation, and they’re both numerous and impressive. For example, there are now 350,000 licensed individuals, many of whom hold their first-ever recognised professional qualification.
Further, 50,000-plus ‘unsuitable’ individuals have been excluded from operating in the sector while over 700 security businesses now reside on the registered ACS listings. “Many of these companies had no form of previous accreditation,” explained Shephard.
More than 100 businesses have been excluded from participation in the ACS and, according to Shephard, it’s now “increasingly the case” that buyers will only ask ACS-registered companies to join their contract tendering procedures.
Going forward, the proposed business licensing regime would be mandatory, meaning that security companies must be approved by the Regulator – in whatever guise that Regulator takes post-Security Industry Authority – in order to trade on a legal basis.
“The overriding aim in terms of the regulatory regime per se is to build on the investments already made,” stressed Shephard. Nothing in terms of the future of regulation is set in stone as yet, and Shephard was duly quick to point this out. What’s on the table could realise a Regulator that operates along the lines of a Council (perhaps similar in structure and style to the General Medical Council). We’ll have to wait and see on that particular point.
There’s certainly an oft-stated desire by the SIA to move far further towards electronic processes that will help – in Shephard’s own words – “reduce the overall costs of regulation” and cut down on “duplication of effort” (both desires pinpointed by the coalition Government in the wider business sense). In terms of the latter, Right to Work and CRB checks represent a classic case in point.
What next for the ‘phased transition’?
Moving on to the next steps in the ‘phased transition to a new regulatory regime’, Shephard confirmed that further consultation meetings will be taking place in the next three months.
At some point in time there’ll have to be a formal Regulatory Impact Assessment procedure set in motion, then preparatory changes will be enshrined to enable the transition.
Shephard stressed that, for now, everything remains the same: licensing is in force, as is the ACS scheme, and companies must adhere to the rules which have now been in place for some time.
When asked by a member of the invited audience as to why the SIA has always chosen not to publish ACS scores, Shephard explained: “As a Regulator, we felt it would be inappropriate to distinguish between the members who belong to what is a voluntary sign-up scheme.”
Will the scoring system be changed anyway at some point?
“No,” responded Shephard with complete conviction, before adding the provisio: “Not as long as the ACS remains in its present format.”
As stated, 700-odd security companies are currently ‘policed’ by the Regulator, but the universe in terms of business licensing could stretch to 2,500 firms. In fact, latest research suggests that figure could even be bumped up to the 4,000 mark.
Surely that means more ‘policemen’ (ie enforcement inspectors) are going to be needed? It’s inevitable that there’ll have to be further discussion around what sort of resourcing levels the Regulator will need to satisfy enforcement requirements.
“We do hear the view that the SIA should be more visible, with more people on the ground on a day-to-day basis,” asserted Shephard, “but of course there’s a cost implication. What I would say is that it’s far easier to police 2,500 businesses than it is 350,000-plus individuals.”
The Olympic Games and the London business community
At 11.45 am, the second and final speaker of the day – David Hargreaves, the counter-terrorism security co-ordinator for the City of London Police – concentrated upon the potential impact of the 2012 Olympic Games on the London business community (including, of course, the terrorist threat and other Games-associated factors that have the potential to affect ‘business as usual’ in the Capital).
Presently, Hargreaves is working with representatives from ACPO and the Metropolitan Police Service on the overarching Olympics security strategy, and was extremely keen to stress that next summer represents “a sporting event with a security overlay”.
Hargreaves – who’s based at Canary Wharf – began his presentation by telling us all that the nominal book of Olympic acronyms stretches to no less than 32 pages.
There are other Games-related statistics that are every bit as staggering. The British Transport Police, for example, estimates that an additional one million journeys are to be made between mid-July and mid-August next year, while 150,000 additional footfall journeys will put London Bridge to the test on every day during that same period.
As Hargreaves rightly pointed out, the security services and law enforcement agencies will have their work cut out when it comes to hostile reconnaissance issues: just think of how many people from all over the world could be in London taking photos of iconic sites? It makes the mind boggle.
What’s happening at Axis Security?
To conclude the event, post-refreshments there was an opportune juncture to chat with Jonathan Levine and David Mundell about what the immediate future holds for Axis Security.
Mirroring the morning’s theme, Mundell kicked off the conversation by proudly stating: “At the end of 2007, the company’s ACS score was just 19, Brian. Now it sits at 132. Of course we’re a manpower-based business and, like all such businesses, from time to time things will go wrong. It’s how you react to situations like this that really counts.”
Mundell’s absolutely right on the money there.
Levine and Mundell have concentrated long and hard on looking after for their staff, in turn realising benefits such as proper life insurance and private healthcare (which is free).
“Our ethos has never changed in that regard, Brian,” said Levine. “We want to be better in all facets of our service delivery, whether that be towards clients or our members of staff.”
Given the tough financial times in which customers have found themselves of late, Levine and Mundell can see why some have chosen to opt for a bundled services model.
“As the economy grows, it’s likely that customers might well revise their opinions on that,” suggested Levine. “From a regional perspective, though, we most certainly need to maintain a focused security solutions delivery for customers in London.”
Worryingly, Mundell told SMT Online that the current marketplace for guarding solutions is the most price-driven he has ever witnessed. “The tender opportunities are lower than they have been,” he stated. “Re-tenders in the market are currently half of what they were this time last year.”
That said, Mundell is “extremely positive” about the second half of 2011, while Levine is even more bullish when it comes to the longer term outlook.
“I can see us doubling the size of the business in the next two-to-three years,” outlined Levine. “The market’s tough, for sure, but if we stick to our guns and keep on revising security procedures with customers on a regular basis then we’ll be heading in the right direction.”
