SECURITY
Dwayne Hill, Mark O’ Neill
and Danny Hartop
“Our team strive to be the best
and I lead by example.”
Peter Scott, managing director of Scott
Bros, is another who only has positives to
say about the firm. “We switched over to
CPS in 2018 as we had a number of issues
regarding site security,” he says. “Since
taking over, they have surpassed all my
expectations and have gone that extra mile
regarding all security issues.”
Not that CPS has ever struggled for work.
The first job for the fledgling company was
the Tees Air Show in 2017, when Glenn
deployed 56 security staff. A job perfectly
executed led to a contract with Teesside
Airport, followed by AV Dawson and the
firm’s first million-pound turnover.
Like most local lads, Stockton-raised
Glenn, who now lives in Wynyard, was and
still is an avid Middlesbrough football fan -
so to then bag the gig of 24-hour security
at the Riverside Stadium and Rockliffe
Park training ground together with all MFC
executive security meant a great deal to him.
“The team for the MFC contract includes
three ex-military staff - one Royal Marine
commando, one formerly with the Parachute
Regiment and one Royal Electrical Engineer.
Alongside their co-workers, they have
received a massive amount of praise due
to the huge improvement in security since
Close Protection took over.
“We have two canine units permanently
on the Riverside Park estate seven nights
a week. So if an alarm goes off, we can
respond with a dog and handler and detain
the people targeting the area.”
Certainly, CPS are radically different to
security firms of old.
“We have an app which allows us –
and the client - to see exactly where the
guards are and what they are doing, plus
we have a team of supervisors paying
regular visits to our sites.”
Glenn finds it difficult to speak of the
exciting plans for the future of CPS given
the current economic downturn.
“I know that Covid-19 has affected
people through no fault of their own and
companies are failing because of it,” he
reflects, but he adds that CPS is able to
offer employment hopes to some of the
region’s workforce.
CPS has partnered with Cleveland
Fire Brigade to provide security at their
headquarters.
“We provide a team of four staff at
their 999 call centre and we are working
alongside them to provide additional
training for SIA (Security Industry
Authority) and first aid.”
The firm has also provided 11 men
daily since February on theAnglo-
American’s Woodsmith project for CFB
Risk Management, a company owned by
Cleveland Fire Brigade.
The sheer volume of work has allowed
Close Protection Security to increase
its workforce to 72 from August, and
plans for a training academy are nearing
completion.
“The training academy will be fully
operational from August 1, offering all
aspects of security training from close
protection to door supervisors and
other security related work. When I
mentioned the academy on Facebook
we were inundated with messages and
calls from people wanting to be trained
by us to our standards and off the back
of the announcement a local educational
establishment approached us to work with
them to do their security courses.”
With an ever-increasing list of
companies keen to access CPS’s services
– including security driving for chief
executives and celebrities in a fleet of topof-the-range
vehicles - does Glenn ever
consider leaving Teesside?
“We were scheduled to fly to Dubai to
open an office there, but had to cancel
our plans due to Covid,” he replies.
“However, plans are being laid for a
Middle East branch. I wouldn’t leave home
personally as I like to see clients and
keep our team fully alert. I can’t do that
if my static base is elsewhere. Our close
protection and security drivers travel
worldwide but someone always reports
back to me or James, our operations
director.”
Ever the believer in counting his
blessings and giving back, Glenn supports
a military charity which aims to get
veterans back into work.
“We employ seven ex-military
personnel and the clients love them,” he
says. “They do a fantastic job and it’s
good to know that we are part of the next
phase of their lives.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 41