Steve Hands and his fellow ex-Royal Marines pal Matt Fisher set up Macaw Security Solutions in 2018 with the aim of being as “boring” as possible.
As £10m annual turnover looms into view, it’s fair to say their “below the radar” method of keeping clients and their assets safe is paying off.
“Layered security approach”
The “layered security approach” Macaw deploys includes multiple tactics, from perimeter signs and CCTV towers to specialist dog units, close protection and quick-reaction force QRF) teams.
Among its customers are West Midlands Railway and developers Barratt Homes, Stoford and Indurent, which recently acquired St Modwen.
Macaw’s client base is 95% commercial. The rest are high-net-worth individuals including various Aston Villa footballers.
Steve and Matt have 16 full-time staff with 52 contractors on the books.
“Install, maintain, monitor – that’s what we do,” says Steve, 49, a father of three from Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.
“Plan, plan and plan again”
“We excel at the boring stuff. Accreditation, insurance, process, monitoring. We go under the radar, and everything we do is underpinned by our core activity: plan, plan and plan again. We go through endless ‘what if’ scenarios. If you don’t do that, things could go wrong and in some cases people could die.”
Steve and his business partner Matt set up Macaw in Solihull, where both were living at the time, after a realisation in 2011 that they could convert their elite military expertise into a comfortable future for their families if they became more “commercially attuned.”
“Banks and equity partners don’t care about what weapons you’ve fired and what exciting stories you’ve got to tell,” says Steve, who served in the Royal Marines from 1992 to 2002, doing operational tours in Bosnia and Northern Ireland, and privately in Iraq after leaving the corps.
“We’re about staying in the background delivering for our clients. Less sexy, less glamorous, but far more useful to our clients and to us.”
In the first couple of years after setting up, Steve and Matt did everything they could to grow the business. Now, with a “great team in place,” they’re able to step back to think strategy, as company bosses looking to scale must do.
Macaw attracts like-minded grafters
Steve describes himself as the “sail” (sales and commercial) and Matt as the “anchor” (due diligence and risk assessment) – complementary qualities which have helped build a business to which like-minded hardworking souls have gravitated.
“Eighty percent of your life you’re at work, so I want to work with people who are on the same wavelength, people who share a belief in hard graft and achieving great results,” says Steve.
Many smaller players in his sector have been forced out, particularly after the Labour government’s punitive tax and National Insurance rises.
Families are the priority
“We see the current scenario as a good opportunity, weeding out market competitors,” Steve says.
“Our families are our priority, and that includes the 60 or so people we employ, the wider Macaw family, whose mortgages depend on us continuing to deliver for clients.”
So, what’s next for Macaw Security Solutions?
“We believe our offering is ideal for the rail industry in the UK,” Steve says.
“West Midlands Railway is a key customer and we believe we can offer others in the sector the same service.”
Another current area of interest is America, specifically Texas.
“We can offer customers a monitored camera for a tenth of the going rate locally. That feels like an opportunity for us,” says Steve, always on duty even when under a poolside sun shade in Gran Canaria, which is where he was when WM News caught up with him.
Turns out “boring” has its perks.
