Based in Solihull, in the West Midlands, MAN Commercial Protection Ltd is a family-owned security company that has been growing for over 30 years to become a nationally recognised provider of security across the UK. The company supports a nationwide range of contracts, ensuring a hands-on, people-centred approach while providing a human face to security.
MAN Commercial Protection is a business about people, with the primary focus on delivering security guarding services rather than surveillance gadgets. It is an approach that has seen the company established as a leader in the market. When we last spoke with the firm’s CEO, Iain McCallister, after the company’s 28th anniversary, he pointed out that this people-led approach to security was the cornerstone of the business.
“The most important thing is we’re a family business,” McCallister told us.
McCallister is still the 100% owner of the company, which has no private equity, venture capital, or corporate funding.
“Our personal touch comes from the fact that family members are still involved at the directorship level,” McCallister said. “We have an ethos where to this day we care about our staff and our people.”
That has not changed over the last two years, but a lot of other things have. We have seen the long-term impact of the Covid pandemic play out. It is also a period that has seen MAN Commercial Protection come a long way.
“In the last three years, we have seen continual growth across the West Midlands and the rest of the UK. We are now the biggest privately-owned security company in the country,” McCallister tells us. “We have bought two new offices in Solihull, giving us an extra 12,000 square feet to work with, all in the same courtyard of offices, one of which is home to our new training academy.”
These investments continue to build on MAN Commercial Protection’s people-focused approach, putting money into the development and training of its staff. It is part of an ongoing process, continuing the business’s efforts to take its staff to the next level. This approach has seen MAN Commercial Protection win a variety of local and national awards for excellence in service, training and leadership.
“We have won numerous industry and commercial awards,” McCallister says. “We are proud of that, but we have also seen continued growth while winning new customers and entering different market sectors, including aviation and oil refineries. Things have been very busy for us, and we are expecting that to continue into 2025.”
In the last three years McCallister himself has earned inclusion in the coveted LDC Top 50 Business People awards, and both Contribution to the Industry and Excellence in Leadership titles at the British Security Awards.
Talking with McCallister it is clear he puts these accolades down to one key factor.
“It is because of how hard we have worked,” McCallister says. “In 2020 a lot of businesses went quiet. But we continued to grow. We were extremely busy, and we have been able to demonstrate what we have achieved through growth in our company, among our team and on social media. We saw no downturn, just because of continuous hard work. It’s about moving to the next level. We are always moving forward. 31 years in business is a great achievement.”
As McCallister jokes, “People often ask me what the biggest risk to our business is. I always say, we made it through a pandemic!”
The Human Factor
However, having a human-centric business model brings with it its own challenges. Like even the most high-end businesses in today’s economy, MAN Commercial Protection is navigating a tough market when it comes to recruitment, particularly as a security company.
McCallister shares, “We have invested heavily in recruitment. We have an excellent in-house recruitment team who have identified where the issues are, and we are working as hard as we can to bring in the best people.”
The company has been investing in growing its staff and empowering its existing employees. It recruits through a range of online channels, interviewing potential candidates from Aberdeen to the South Coast, building on its 1,700 full time staff.
But MAN Commercial Protection does not just want to recruit new staff, it wants to create an environment that encourages its existing talent to stick around.
“Retention is key,” McCallister says. “We undergo four industry standard audits a year, and retention is a big part of that. People come in at the top then slip out at the bottom, so we measure retention and ensure we work as hard as we can to keep those people. Most of my own senior management team have been with us for many years.”
One member of staff MAN Commercial Protection will continue to retain is McCallister himself.
“The most asked question I get is about my exit strategy, and I’ve not got one,” he tells us. “I have a sign in our boardroom that says, ‘There is no End Game’. My focus is on continuing to build the company. We are still looking at acquisitions, and have established a new sales team. Over the next three years, I intend to get us to £100 million in turnover.”
There is no telling where MAN Commercial Protection will go from there, but it is sure to include yet more growth, more awards, an inclusive and people-focused culture, delivering excellent customer service.
