Nuneaton security firm smashes targets 18 months after setting up

A Nuneaton security firm, which was established by two female entrepreneurs, has moved to new offices after smashing its targets in the first 18 months of business.

Sue Yildiz and Gennine Cope established Kopek Security in March 2018 in a small unit in Dunns Close and the first few months after setting up saw them finding their feet after both working as dog handlers in the security industry.

The firm has now moved to a new headquarters in the same location – which is eight times the size of the first unit – and the business is winning contracts all over the UK which has seen it earning in a month what was projected for a year.

Kopek’s upward surge began after being introduced to Gavin Barnett, of the CWLEP Growth Hub, and he recommended that they work with the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

He introduced Sue and Gennine to Business Advisor, Helena Bassett, who supported them through the Accelerated Growth Programme. This project forms part of the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Support Programme which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Helena advised the pair to look at their customers’ journey and think about how best to market themselves to potential new clients, including a website audit.

But her biggest single piece of advice was to get the company to ‘think big’ in order to grow at a greater pace than they had originally planned.

“We were busy at the very start,” said Gennine, “but it wasn’t necessarily in the right areas to get the business growing.

“We spoke to Gavin from the CWLEP Growth Hub, and he recommended that we work with the Chamber on the Accelerated Growth Programme.

“It has really changed our approach to business and by getting the foundations right with Helena, it has seen us grow to the point where we needed to expand into this new office.”

Kopek now has around 50 sub-contractors working for the business from as far north as Stockton-on-Tees down to Brighton on everything from construction sites through to residential property.

As part of the company’s expansion, it has introduced three new services – key holding, mobile patrols and emergency response.

“We work in every corner of the country,” said Sue, “but we believe our new services will focus largely on the regional market and are a further opportunity for us to grow our client base.

“It’s a very competitive industry but we know what it’s like on the other side and have ensured that we treat our staff in the right way, which means they keep the customer happy.

“We are grateful for all of the support we have received and are pleased to be giving something back to the local economy.”

Helena Bassett advises a range of businesses across the area on how they can scale-up their growth.

She said: “I am so pleased to see just how much Kopek has grown in such as short space of time. I looked at some of the fundamentals with them around marketing, key performance indicators and making sure they always had their customer journey in mind.

“But it always came back to the fact that they could think bigger and push themselves to grow much more quickly – and that’s exactly what they have done.

“On the completion of the programme, Kopek have gone on to join our Chamber membership, realising that a strong events programme and additional support services will be invaluable to their business.”

Gavin Barnett, a business navigator at the CWLEP Growth Hub, added: “It is great to see how far Kopek have come in a very short space of time.

“There’s lot of support available to companies and I am delighted that we could introduce them to the Chamber to get the help they needed to grow in such an incredible way.”

The Accelerated Growth programme offers free impartial advice to help businesses to grow, through a variety of tailored 1:1 sessions.  For more information please contact the Chamber’s Business Support team at the Chamber of Commerce on 02476 654 321 or email [email protected]