Tag: Westgrove Group

Westgrove Announce BSIA Nomination List!

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

Westgrove are delighted to announce that we have put forward 25 nominations for this years 2023 British Security Awards for our Colleagues across the country.

The British Security Awards are a National Event that recognises the talent and commitment from the industry’s finest. The awards are organised by the British Security Industry Association and celebrate the achievements and bravery made by members of the Security Industry.

We were pleased to nomnate the following colleagues for a BSIA Award and would like to wish them the best of luck in the regional rounds!

BSIA Service To The Customer Award

Antony Yates & Christopher Ashley – Birchwood Park

Steve Allen – Haymarket Shopping Centre

Asa Abraham – Queens Square Shopping Centre

Damon Kosmalski-Pearson – Riverside Shopping Centre

Sandra Perry – Templars Square

BSIA Security Manager Of The Year Award

Muhammad Younis – Royal Priors Shopping Centre

Paul Lavery – St Johns Shopping Centre

BSIA Best Newcomer Of The Year Award

Jack Davenport – Templars Square Shopping Centre

Kyle Farrelly-Reid – Spindles Town Square

BSIA Outstanding Act Of The Year Award

Hameed Smith, Imran Younis, Jonathan Chandler, Owen Jarrett – Castle Quay Shopping Centre

Castle Quay Shopping Centre Security Team

Haider Hussian – Queens Square Shopping Centre

Damon Kosmalski-Pearson – Riverside Shopping Centre

Jason Baker, Tony Cairns, Brain Heeney, Jane Gerrard – Spindles Town Square

Kyle Sands – Telford Centre

Martin wain, Jack Davenport, Mohammad Ali – Templars Square Shopping Centre

Martin Wain, Sandra Perry, Nar Gurung, Darren Harris – Templars Square Shopping Centre

Rodney Gould – The Galleries Shopping Centre

Angela Crawshaw – The Moor Shopping Centre

Imran Hanif – The Moor Shopping Centre

John Whitford – Willow Place Shopping Centre

Ryan Griffin – Willow Place Shopping Centre

BSIA Best Team Of The Year Award

Ryemarket Shopping Centre Team

Templars Square Shopping Centre Security Team

Touchwood Shopping Centre Security Team

Colleague Commended By Merseyside Police

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

We’re extremely proud of our colleague, Paul for receiving a commendation from Merseyside Police in recognition of his outstanding service in assisting the Police over the last few months with regards to his remarkable use of CCTV.

Paul Lavery works as a Security Officer at St Johns Shopping Centre, the largest of Liverpool’s covered shopping centres, located in the heart of the City. With the support of Paul, the Police have been able to prevent crimes and made a number of arrests of wanted individuals.

Paul is being recognised for a number of incidents where he has provided CCTV footage to the police. One incident, during Christmas 2022, a gang of youths committed over £1million worth of damage throughout the city centre. Paul was vigilant and noticed one of the individuals walking through the shopping centre and provided footage to the police, leading to an arrest.

Dave Crawford from Merseyside Police wrote to Paul to “thank him for his help, work and keen eye on the matter”.

Paul has also been nominated for a number of Westgrove Reward & Recognition Awards and National Industry Awards for his impressive use of CCTV.

Congratulations to Paul on his commendation, keep up the fantastic work!

Westgrove a winner at the British Security Awards 2019

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

The Westgrove Group has scooped a prestigious national industry award for its outstanding security personnel work.

Steve Allen, Dual Service Manager at Haymarket Shopping Centre, won the national award for ‘Service to the Customer’ at the British Security Awards, held in London.

Organised by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), the awards showcase the national finals of the security personnel categories and highlight outstanding personnel within the industry who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their everyday work.

Mike Reddington, Chief Executive of the BSIA, said: “The British Security Awards is a major celebration in the security industry calendar that recognises the talent and commitment of our industry’s finest.

“We have an industry fit to burst with positive ambassadors from within our sector: from young officers starting out to seasoned professionals – every one of them recognised today for having gone above and beyond expectation, demonstrating courage, innovation, customer service and contribution to the industry.”

Westgrove Group Managing Director Claire McKinley Smith said: “Steve is a superb manager and it’s fantastic to see him recognised in this way.

“This is a huge achievement and shows the value in both putting our amazing colleagues forward for prestigious industry awards and showing how our people go the extra mile for the company and our Partners.”

Westgrove also had a number of regional winners in this year’s BSIA awards including Market Place, Ropewalk and Concourse Shopping Centres.

Steve Allen of The Westgrove Group receives his British Security Award

Westgrove Group wins new three-year security contract

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Owner

Facilities management company The Westgrove Group has won a new contract in the Midlands.

The fast-growing soft services provider, based in Warrington, has been appointed to provide security services to Queens Square Shopping Centre, managed by property management partner Lee Baron, in West Bromwich

Westgrove Managing Director Claire McKinley Smith said: “We are delighted to announce this new contract win.

“The management team at Queens Square and Lee Baron were impressed with our bid which included our bespoke real time patrolling system, extensive shopping centre experience and the colleague centric nature of our business.

“Our people are what makes us special and we are looking forward to developing the on-site team through our training and development programs.”

Aaron Powell, Centre Manager for Queens Square said: “We are delighted to award Westgrove the Security Contract for Queens Square. We pride ourselves on delivering an exceptional level of customer service alongside on-going support for our retailers and are excited to partner with a national leading service provider who shares these same values as us.”

The Westgrove Group is expanding rapidly across its core service areas of security, cleaning and customer service teams, increasing its market share in shopping centres as well as moving into new sectors. The company is on track to grow its turnover to £40million by the end of 2021.

Two Westgrove Group cleaners feature in new Jamie Lawson video

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

Two Westgrove Group cleaners have a cameo role in singer Jamie Lawson’s new video.

Pat Grogan and Bev Jones were filmed during the making of the video to go with Jamie’s new single, The Answer.

The singer, who is signed to Ed Sheeran’s record label, spent the day with Pat and Bev, as well as shoppers on Space Hoppers, at Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton.

The Westgrove Group provides Market Place with cleaning and security services.

The production company, Sitcom Soldiers, who made the video suggested the Market Place as they knew it was a good light space that would look great on camera.

Jamie is best known for his 2015 hit single ‘Wasn’t expecting that’.

The video features Jamie bouncing around the shopping centre on colourful space hoppers with a number of people. It followed an appeal on Jamie’s social media for a wide range of ‘physically fit’ people to get in touch to be cast for the video.

Jamie said: “It was great to film at Market Place with its stunning architecture, ornate Victorian roof and basement vaults which provided a beautiful and interesting backdrop to our quirky space hopping video concept.

“We wanted to show how love gives you this happy, walking on air, bouncing feeling… so we came up with either trampolining or space hopping. My trampolining skills are not all that good, my space hopping skills on the other hand are second to none! So the idea was that I would bounce around a shopping mall spreading love and having couples join me as I go.

“The staff were amazing, all very kind and helpful, the cleaners were ace and did a great cameo in the video, helping to set the story up.

“The strangest thing was how most customers seemed to walk straight by without batting an eyelid whilst I bounced past them on a space hopper, as though a man on a space hopper in the middle of town is an everyday occurrence…which maybe it is in Bolton!”

Jamie’s new single is called ‘The Answer’, from his new album ‘The Years in Between’ and the accompanying video can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Da1vhbrWIA&feature=youtu.be

Westgrove Group becomes Living Wage Service Provider

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

The Westgrove Group has been accredited as a Living Wage Service Provider.

Westgrove, which employs over 1000 security, cleaning and customer service colleagues across the UK will recommend to its Partners that those colleagues are paid the higher wage rate of £9.00 per hour.

Living Wage Foundation Director Katherine Chapman, said: “We are delighted to recognise The Westgrove Group for their on-going commitment to the Living Wage as a Service Provider.”

Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, said: “We are proud to have been accredited as a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider.

“We believe strongly in the importance of looking after all our people from apprentices through to members of staff who have been with us for more than 20 years.

“Although we do not set the wage rates ourselves, we will be working with our Partners to recommend that they pay the living wage rather than the minimum wage. Our customers and suppliers value the fact that we are committed to the training and development of our people along with our commitment to our comprehensive range of products and our passion for customer service.”

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The principle behind the Living Wage is that work should bring dignity and should enable families to enjoy the essentials of life.

The Westgrove Group specialises in providing security, cleaning and security services in high footfall destinations from shopping centres, airports and corporate businesses to retail environments across the UK.

The Warrington based company, founded in 1998, has grown considerably in the past two years and is on target to turnover £40 million in the next five years.

Westgrove Group records another strong year of growth

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

Facilities management specialist Westgrove Group has recorded another year of strong growth.
The Warrington based company saw turnover rise from £20 million to £25 million – and profits increased by almost 30% – in the 12 months to the end of December 2018. The colleague centric business also added a further 200 to its workforce.
It says it remains firmly on course to become a £40 million turnover business in the next five years and has exciting expansion plans forecast for the South UK later this year.
Westgrove provides its security, cleaning and PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) services to shopping centres, corporates, business parks and airports across the UK.
Recent successes have included the launch of a Specialist Cleaning Division and a move into aviation, providing cleaning and PRM services to two regional airports.
Westgrove were appointed by managing agents CBRE to provide the security for Birchwood Park in Warrington, the region’s leading out of town business location.
They also enjoyed a number of new contract wins in Bracknell, Bristol, Liverpool, Dagenham, Swansea and Leamington Spa.
The company, which recently celebrated its annual Reward and Recognition Awards at The Village Hotel in Warrington, was recently shortlisted in the Finance Awards North West and has just been accredited as a Living Wage Service Provider.
Westgrove, which celebrated its 20th birthday by climbing Ben Nevis for charity, has also appointed its first Mental Health First-Aider.
Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, said: “We are always striving to improve the business and to grow through innovation, quality of service and by recruiting the best possible people.
“Remaining independent has been a massive strength. It gives a much greater personal feel to our business and we can offer a level of flexibility and transparency without compromising on service.”
Over 50% of Westgrove’s clients are based in the south of England. The company will be announcing exciting expansion plans for the southern region later in the year.

Westgrove Group appoints Mental Health First-Aider

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

We have appointed our first site based Mental Health First-Aider.
We are working with one of our key partners, Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton, to champion awareness of mental health.
As part of the service to shoppers, the Centre was keen to ensure that they identified a mental health first aider, something which is being called for by many companies in the UK to be mandatory as part of the ‘Time to Change’ campaign
Following a very successful mental health awareness week in 2018, Changing Minds, the Centre and Westgrove worked together to train over 80 staff in mental health awareness.
Following the training, a member of the team, Paul Ogden, one of the Centre’s Guest Service Ambassadors, took on the role as mental health champion.
Paul is now available to offer support and advice to vulnerable customers visiting the Centre as well as to the Centre’s tenants.
As part of his training, Paul completed a mental health first aid course through St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid charity, and a NCFE CACHE Level 2 certificate qualification in Mental Health Awareness.
Nikki Wilson-Cook, Centre Manager of Market Place said: “With mental health in the workplace being such a burning issue nationally, we are proud to be setting an industry precedent with the introduction of our first Mental Health First Aider at Market Place.
“Paul Ogden is equipped with all the skills required to help someone, be it a colleague or a member of the public suffering mental distress, which is all too common an occurrence today.”
The Westgrove Group, based in Warrington, specialises in providing security, cleaning and security services in high footfall destinations from shopping centres and corporate businesses to retail environments.
Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, said: “As a company, we take mental health extremely seriously so we are very proud to be one of the first facilities management companies in the UK to appoint a mental health first-aider.
“We are fully on board with the ‘Time to Change’ campaign, supported by many UK businesses, to take mental health more seriously in the work place as we believe that mental health needs to be given the same weight as physical first aid.
“Since starting in the new role, Paul has rolled out his training to the Westgrove team onsite and to the tenants within the Centre.
“He has already identified a number of vulnerable customers and offered them advice and support. We will be looking to appoint mental health first aiders at many more centres across our UK portfolio during 2019.”
The Westgrove Group was founded in 1998 by Group Chairmen Simon Whittle and Steve Fives. Based in Warrington, North West UK, it employs over 1,000 colleagues across the UK and has an annual turnover of £25M.

Paul Ogden, the Westgrove Group’s first Mental Health First-Aider

Westgrove Group launches Specialist Cleaning division

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Lucy Wood - Uncategorised

The Westgrove Group has launched a new Specialist Cleaning division on the back of continued growth in soft services.

The company, which provides services to over 100 sites across the UK, has grown by 21% in the past two years.

The new division will help drive sales to a target of over £40 million in the next five years.

The Specialist Cleaning Division will move Westgrove into self-delivery of window cleaning, pressure washing, steam cleaning, roof and gutter cleaning, cladding cleaning and other high-level cleaning.

The company hopes its current portfolio of Partners in the retail property, corporate buildings, warehouses, leisure, mixed-use environments and external public realm sectors will see the benefits of the new division as well as targeting brand new Partners.

The division will be headed up by Daina Parker, Westgrove’s Specialist Cleaning Manager, who has years of experience in high level cleaning.

Daina, who worked for High Access Maintenance Ltd for 10 years, will lead the new team to deliver services across the UK.

She said: “Westgrove is a fast growing company and this is a great time to join the business. I’m looking forward to providing our Partners with our brand new service, all delivered by our highly experienced team.”

Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, which employs over 1,000 people, said: “We are very excited to announce the launch of this new division which demonstrates our continued growth and supports our plans for the future.

“Westgrove have an exemplary health and safety record and. with years of experience and knowledge in the industry, we are delighted to be able to offer an even wider range of cleaning methods suited to our customers’ needs.”

Westgrove, which celebrated its 20^th anniversary last year, specialises in providing security, cleaning and security services in high footfall destinations from shopping centres and corporate businesses to retail environments.

The £22 million company was founded in 1998 by Group Chairmen Simon Whittle and Steve Fives.

Here’s a link to the story as it appeared on FMJ

The Westgrove Group raises £1,500 for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Lucy Wood - Owner

The Westgrove Group’s ‘Walk for Alder Hey Day’ has helped to raise £1,500 for the charity.
Across the country, our partners and colleagues walked 1,500 miles in a day to raise the money for Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
The money will go towards a new App designed to help children when they first arrive at the hospital.
The Alder Play app is powered by the very latest digital and cognitive advances. It uses gaming and augmented reality to distract patients having procedures in hospital. Within Alder Play, parents will also be able to interact with a chatbot called “Ask Oli” to ask questions about the hospital and what may happen to their child.
Westgrove Brand & Development Director Laurie Barton Wright said: “We look after over 100 sites across the UK and our colleagues walk miles every day, so we thought it would be a good idea to turn the miles they walk in to pounds to help this incredible charity.
“For every mile they walked, we pledged to donate £1 to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
“The event raised an amazing £1,500 and we’re really proud of everyone who took part, especially the team from Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre in Oldham who raised the most money for a single site.”
Hayley Thomas, Acting Head of Corporate Fundraising at Alder Hey Children’s Charity, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff who put so much effort into this fundraising initiative!
“It’s such a unique idea and has raised a fantastic amount of money for Alder Hey. The money raised by the Westgrove Group will help us to continue to develop our app, Alder Play, and we are so grateful for this support.”
Alder Hey is one of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospitals, caring for 270,000 patients and families every year and treating everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions.
Look out for more Westgrove fundraising events in 2019.