BOURNEMOUTH University has awarded a £3.6m contract to provide its security over a decade.

The contract has gone to the Shield Group, the largest company in its field nationally.

The Shield Group, which was established 25 years ago, won the contract following the recent launch of a dedicated division for manned guarding.

It will provide 13 security guards to patrol the university’s two campuses. They will manage student residences and lecture halls and will be responsible for guarding, reception services, entrance protection and car park management.

The company will also provide security for the £10.5m student centre, the Students’ Union at Bournemouth University, when it is finished.

Shield has a growing portfolio of educational partners, which is worth more than £3.2m a year following the award of the Bournemouth contract.

Stuart Macleod, regional director at Shield, will head the project. He began his career as a microbiologist and worked in accountancy before joining Shield, where he has worked for more than 16 years in senior management.

He said the tendering process had been ‘highly competitive’.

“We will be integrating our manpower and latest technological systems to create a safe and healthy environment across both campuses centred on the well-being of students, staff and visitors,” he added.

“We are looking forward to working closely with the university over the next 10 years, and I am particularly proud to be leading the project.”

John Roddy, chief executive of the Shield Group, said: “Our understanding of the very particular requirements of the education sector combined with our total security solutions approach has enabled us to develop genuine partnerships with a growing number of education institutions in recent years. This is an area of special importance to us as we are fully adept to the complex needs of education and able to achieve the many challenging targets of this sector.”

The Shield Group was taken over by India’s largest security company, TOPSGRUP, in 2012, and projects sales of more than £80m for 2014-15.