TIDMWSG
RNS Number : 8672B
Westminster Group PLC
15 June 2021
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Westminster Group Plc
('Westminster', the 'Group' or the 'Company')
New Minimum 20 Year Multi-Million USD Managed Services Contract
covering
5 Airports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Westminster Group Plc (AIM: WSG), a leading supplier of managed
services and technology-based security solutions worldwide, is
pleased to announce that its Services Division has been awarded a
long-term managed services contract to provide security services to
5 airports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ('DRC'), Central
Africa .
The contract was officially signed in Kinshasa by board
representatives of Westminster and the airport authority, La Regie
Des Voies Aeriennes (RVA) and witnessed by the British Ambassador,
Ms Emily Maltman. The signed contract will now undergo formal
ratification in accordance with DRC government procurement
requirements before meaningful activities commence.
This latest multi-million USD per annum managed services
contract was secured after many months of negotiation and delays
caused by COVID travel restrictions. The contract, which is for an
initial period of 20 years, with a 5-year renewal thereafter, is to
provide comprehensive ground security operations, initially at 4
international airports and 1 national airport in the DRC.
Westminster is to provide its expertise in assisting the
authorities to develop and maintain world-class airport security
services, opening up the potential for growth in air traffic by
attracting new international carriers and commercial enterprises to
the region.
The contract is based on Westminster's managed services model
successfully deployed elsewhere in Africa. Revenues will be driven
by embarking passenger numbers using the airports and funded by a
per passenger fee denominated in USD, collected through the
ticketing system and payable directly to Westminster by the
airlines or a suitable collection agency such as the International
Air Transport Association ('IATA'). Whilst air travel remains
impacted by COVID, with passenger numbers estimated to be currently
around 50% of normal levels and full recovery not expected until
2023, the contract is still expected to generate revenues in excess
of $6m in the first twelve months of operation with proportional
growth in revenues and margins as passenger numbers recover to
normal levels. In addition, there is an opportunity under the
contract for further revenues from cargo screening operations.
Under the contract, Westminster will assume the employment and
management of the airports' aviation security teams and technical
staff and fund the upgrade of the security infrastructure,
installing new security equipment and fencing, including a wide
range of detection and surveillance technologies which will be
maintained and updated throughout the life of the contract.
Westminster will also assist the airports to become more Covid
resilient by installing temperature screening and sanitisations
systems. In addition to improving the employment conditions of
existing security staff at the airport, Westminster will also
provide a small team of experienced aviation security specialists
to assist the airport operator meet and maintain the highest levels
of security by providing the required training, mentoring, skills
transfer and compliance support services.
The contract includes a 90-day transition period to allow for
operational planning and recruitment processes to be completed.
Operations are therefore expected to formally commence in September
2021, although Westminster will deploy its transition team once the
DRC government ratification process has been completed in order to
commence planning, recruitment, training and logistics. The
required investment in the project by Westminster will be spread
over a number of years as systems and equipment are deployed and
upgraded.
The Company will continue to monitor its ongoing funding
requirements and most appropriate sources of such funding, as this
contract develops, alongside other potential contracts being
pursued globally to ensure the Group has adequate financing in
place to deal with the targeted expansion of services.
Commenting on the contract award Westminster's Chief Executive
Officer, Peter Fowler, said:
"We stated in our 2020 annual report, issued in May 2021, that
delivering at least one more large-scale managed services contract
this year, despite COVID challenges, was one of our priority goals.
I am therefore delighted that our Services Division has secured
this important new long-term managed services contract in the DRC,
one of several such opportunities being pursued around the world,
which further expands our airport security projects and
international presence.
"I am also delighted that as a direct result of our strategic
acquisition of our French business, Euro Ops, in 2019 that we are
now developing opportunities, such as this, in Francophone
Africa.
"The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of our target
markets for some time and a country we believe has exciting growth
potential. With a surface area equivalent to that of Western Europe
it is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the
second largest in all of Africa, and the 11th-largest in the world.
It is also the most-populous Francophone country in the world. Air
travel is therefore an important and a necessary requirement within
this vast country. The country is extremely rich in natural
resources and has the potential for sizeable economic growth. I
look forward to Westminster having a long-term presence in the
country and in playing our part in the successful growth and
security of the country's numerous airports."
For further information please contact:
Westminster Group Plc Media enquiries via Walbrook
PR
Rt. Hon. Sir Tony Baldry - Chairman
Peter Fowler - Chief Executive Officer
Mark Hughes - Chief Financial Officer
Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated
Adviser)
James Harris 020 7409 3494
Ritchie Balmer
Arden Partners plc (Broker)
Richard Johnson (Corporate)
Tim Dainton/Simon Johnson (Broking) 020 7614 5900
Walbrook (Investor Relations)
Tom Cooper 020 7933 8780
Paul Vann
Nick Rome Westminster@walbrookpr.com
Notes:
Westminster Group plc is a specialist security and services
group operating worldwide via an extensive international network of
agents and offices in over 50 countries.
Westminster's principal activity is the design, supply and
ongoing support of advanced technology security solutions,
encompassing a wide range of surveillance, detection (including
Fever Detection), tracking and interception technologies and the
provision of long-term managed services contracts such as the
management and running of complete security services and solutions
in airports, ports and other such facilities together with the
provision of manpower, consultancy and training services. The
majority of its customer base, by value, comprises governments and
government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGO's) and
blue-chip commercial organisations.
The Westminster Group Foundation is part of the Group's
Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
www.wg-foundation.org
The Foundation's goal is to support the communities in which the
Group operates by working with local partners and other established
charities to provide goods or services for the relief of poverty
and the advancement of education and healthcare particularly in the
developing world.
The Westminster Group Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation, CIO, registered with the Charities Commission number
1158653.
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