Security giant G4S brings in new Irish team

A G4s Cash Guard

Nick Webb

G4S, the word's biggest security company, with interests that stretch from Guantanamo Bay to armoured cash vans in Dublin, has restructured part of its Irish business - bringing in a new management team.

"There's a lot more to do, particularly in our Irish business. Our Irish business had been, I would say, undermanaged for some time - and we have replaced our management team in our Irish cash business.

"We went out into the marketplace and got a seasoned executive who has worked for a long time in the cash space," G4S chief executive Ashley Almanz told investors last week.

G4S has a 63pc share of the 
Irish cash-in-transit market and transports about €50m around the State each day. Significant chunks of its Irish business are now managed from the UK.

The FTSE-listed firm, whose operations range from running prisons, transporting cash and protecting ships from pirates, has suffered in recent years due to a number of contract scandals in the UK and abroad.

It failed to provide enough security staff for the London Olympics in 2012 and the tumbled into a prisoner tagging controversy, which ultimately led to a management shakeup at its corporate HQ.