Services that work by face to face contact have been hard-pressed by the virus. It means that a contractor that offers a range of services might find heavier demand in one vertical sector or branch, and less in another. Take the vacant property and site protection field as an example.
Orbis Protect specialises in guarding of remote and empty premises, whether pubs between tenants (featured last month) or building sites out of hours; it also offers deep-cleans, and there has seen a rise in demand, from banks to care homes and sole traders, reports Louis Fordham, Orbis Protect Business Development Director.
Crime-wise, another firm, VPS UK, has seen a rise in burglaries and attempted thefts in Manchester, Merseyside, Gwent and Cleveland. David Wormald, Key Account Director for Hospitality and Retail at VPS says: “It’s no surprise that when whole city centres are deserted, that opportunistic thieves will take their chances, especially with an already stretched police service. And because so many people are staying at home now, there’s even fewer chances that an attempted burglary on a commercial site will be spotted and reported.”
The firm describes its CCTV monitoring as a safe, socially distant means to monitor premises (including with re-deployable CCTV towers, pictured) via a remote video monitoring centre. “Vulnerable premises like construction sites, which contain valuable plant and equipment, are now standing empty for a few weeks, so they need to kept secure.”
About the firms
Orbis Protect, set up in 1981, has 18 offices across the UK, employs 450 staff, a fleet of over 160 vehicles and has a turnover of over £30m. The company is accredited by Contractor Plus, CHAS, Environmental Agency, SafeContractor, Constructionline Platinum and Builders Profile. Clients include housing associations, the NHS, the police, asset management companies and insurers. Visit www.orbisprotect.com/.
VPS is a specialist provider of vacant property, occupied premises and site security. In 2019 they were nominated for the fifth successive year in the IFSEC Security and Fire Excellence Awards, for Customer Care and Security Installer of the Year. Operating from over 50 locations across UK and Europe, they protect over 50,000 properties and sites at any time, and employ over 1200 people; visit https://www.vpsgroup.com/.
