We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Mathew Oakley from OPTEX Security EMEA to our head office in Andover. Mathew has been a friend of the firm for many years now and it was great to have him join us, spend time with the team and explore our technology in action.
During his visit, Mathew sat down with our Managing Director, Paul Howe for an in-depth conversation about growth, leadership, detection and the values that sit at the heart of Venture. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on our journey and share insights into what makes Venture so unique.
We loved this comment from Mathew too: “Hearing Paul’s journey was inspiring – a man driven by honesty and values.”
If you’d like to watch the interview, you can do so by clicking here. We have also shared some highlights from a transcript of the conversation below.
The Interview:
Mathew: How did Venture Security start?
Paul: I worked in other security companies before Venture and whilst I enjoyed the work that I did, there was always a pattern of dishonesty or questionable goings on. That didn’t align for me, because for me security is about trust. It’s about doing the right thing and protecting people. So, when the opportunity came along, I spoke to my wife at length, and we agreed that we’d give it a go. We formed Venture in 2006 and will have been operating 20 years this year! It’s been a long journey, but I still stand by those same values. We’re still trying to do the right thing by our customers and the public.
In the beginning we didn’t have a clue what we were doing. We knew what we wanted to achieve, and an industry colleague called me and said, ‘I’ve got a contract that you might want to get you off the ground’. It was a Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Surrey, and we were to provide to door supervisors, Fridays and Saturday nights. That was our first contract.
Mathew: How has Venture Security grown and evolved over the years?
Paul: We started off as a door supervision company. The intention was to be a premium quality door supervision company, but it became very apparent that the market for a premium door supervision company didn’t exist. We did pick up customers, but it didn’t feel like we were ever going to set the world on fire, so we decided to diversify.
Initially, we moved into mobile security, which we felt was a way to even out our business and have a long-term opportunity, being something we could scale. We’ve been doing that since starting the process in 2008 and mobile remains a big part of our company today. It’s about 25% of our revenue now.
We then got off the ground with manned guarding around 2011 and that’s about 60% of our company today.
We don’t do door supervision anymore and haven’t since 2018, but we still do events. I’m so proud of our events team. They’re very, very good at what they do.
Mathew: What type of sites does Venture Security look after?
Paul: We look after more than 400 customer sites, including some really well-known names, such as Stonehenge and The Roman Baths. Both of which are World Heritage sites, so we’re very, very proud of those.
We also look after Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals and several household brands, including Stannah Group, Specsavers, Coopervision, and a few town centres and city centres across the region.
The main threats we come across really depend on each individual site. At some of the best-known sites people will try to get in to film themselves for YouTube, that kind of thing. So often it’s a case of politely challenging them and asking them to leave.
Physical detection is used at various sites at different scales, depending on the asset and the level of threat. We work with some companies who have quite high levels of security, and they layer in detection along with the standard deterrence.
Take Stonehenge, for example. Our officers are there to detect people, see them coming, challenge them early, and explain to them. If for any reason there was an issue, there’s a team of people there who will work together to deal with it. The police can also be involved if necessary, and they’re very aware of the site and will respond quickly.
Mathew: What are your thoughts on detection?
Paul: I think it’s an essential part of what makes security work. No form of security works in isolation because you can just circumnavigate it as a hostile actor. Detection is an important layer and it’s an early layer that can help buy time to prevent or mitigate crime.
People think about the shinier, often more expensive mitigation measures that are available. CCTV being one example. Now while CCTV is really important, it won’t work effectively in isolation. There are other things that people can do in a cost-effective way to protect their site.
A good example is if someone’s got a site that has buildings that back on to the perimeter of the site. Detection can monitor the space, and there are lots of opportunities to use that cost-effectively. If someone was to come through the fence and attempt to break in through the back of the property, it can give an early warning. We can then ask an officer to go and check it out, or we can check it using CCTV if it has sight of that area and actually get there before the crime takes place.
Often you hear about break-ins where people have got in through a slightly less obvious route and got away with what they wanted. Sometimes businesses are none the wiser until it’s too late. So, detection is essential.
Security always works best as a package. I think very often people make the mistake that they only think ‘I need an alarm’ or ‘I need a CCTV camera’, and those things are brilliant at what they do. Over time, technology is also improving. But they can’t do everything.
You have to think about the layers – deterring, delaying, detecting, and responding. It’s all relevant.
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To learn more about how we work and to discuss your specific security needs, call us on 01264 391538 or email [email protected].
