IT firm celebrates 15 years in business in Coventry

A Coventry IT firm that began life in a shared council office for startup businesses, is celebrating its 15th anniversary on the back of a record year.

PS4B was established by Richard Hooper in Coventry City Council’s Steeple House in 2005. He used some of his own savings and a loan from NatWest to get started and the company now employs six staff and supports clients across the Midlands. PS4B landed a string of new customers in 2019 –including a portfolio of clients from a Black Country IT company that was winding up operations.

Events and conference centre, the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre (NAEC) Stoneleigh, has saved around 60 jobs threatened by the closure of a West Midlands security firm.

Solihull-based Securex provided security and stewarding staff to help manage the thousands of visitors attending more than 275 events every year at the centre, which is based at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth.

With Securex closing down, NAEC Stoneleigh stepped in to create Grandstand Security and Stewarding, to save the jobs of dozens of workers who have been trusted faces at the renowned conference site for many years.

Rob Patterson, Head of Venue Operations at NAEC Stoneleigh, said: “As soon as we heard the business was closing, we decided to take all of our security and stewarding needs in-house under the banner of Grandstand Security and Stewarding and, at the same time, protect the jobs of up to 60 dedicated staff who have worked with us for so long – many of whom live locally to Stoneleigh.”