Banbury-based Westminster Group reports revenues of more than £7M

Westminster Group Plc, the Banbury-based security business, has reported revenues of £7.1 million for 2021.

While this was down from £9.9 million in 2020, the company said that this was despite declining market confidence and delays of projects within its technology division. However, its services division delivered a "robust performance" the company says. Losses after tax were £1.9 million, up from 2020 when the company made losses of £0.7m.

The company has also been awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade and secured security contracts for the Tower of London, airport security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southeast Africa, and port security in West Africa.

Since the period end,

Peter Fowler, Chief Executive of Westminster, said: "The defining aspect of 2021 was, of course, the ongoing global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, whilst one of the main highlights of the year was the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of Westminster's outstanding contribution to International Trade, which recognised Westminster's many achievements, particularly given the challenges presented by the global pandemic.

"Despite parts of our business being adversely impacted by lockdowns and travel restrictions, the strength of our business model, with multiple revenue streams from multiple sources around the world, together with our global footprint has meant that we were better placed than many companies to deal with the numerous challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"I am proud of how our staff have pulled together and how we have managed to navigate the crisis. We have continued to keep our people safe, fully employed (using the UK government's furlough scheme where appropriate) and maintained our global operations, albeit some on reduced levels.

"We continued to deliver on business opportunities and, in 2021, we supplied goods and services to 60 countries around the world, including some notable contract wins. We have continued to invest in our worldwide business development programmes in order to deliver on our growth potential, particularly in our long-term major managed services projects. 

"I am pleased to report therefore that, the outlook for 2022 is looking positive as the worst impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic recedes, travel restrictions are being lifted and business confidence is beginning to return.

"Building on 2021's recorded revenue we are targeting a number of incremental revenue growth opportunities for 2022 which, if delivered, will be a step change for the business. Our West Africa airport operations are recovering strongly returning to pre-pandemic levels. Our port security business is growing and we are targeting new opportunities to be delivered in the year. We are seeing recovery and anticipate healthy growth in both our guarding and training businesses. Our enquiries remain buoyant, and we are targeting material growth both in our product sales and larger-scale solutions business. 

"The recovery we are seeing in existing revenue streams and new contracts, together with our business model and the opportunities we have been developing over the years, despite the challenges and setbacks we have experienced from the global Covid-19 pandemic, underpin our confidence for the future growth of our business. Whilst there is still uncertainty in the world, not least with evolving global events, we remain optimistic that we can meet 2022 financial year market expectations."