The facilities industry has had more than£5m worth of equipment stolen in London over the past 12 months, writes Sam Espensen.

The facilities industry has had more than£5m worth of equipment stolen in London over the past 12 months.

In October alone, insurance brokers Allan Chapman and James (ACJ) said that four of its clients have each had more than£150,000 worth of kit stolen.

Companies which have suffered thefts include hire firm Gearhouse Broadcast, post company Editworks, OB outfit Bowtie, US facilities giant Ascent Media and Denham-based Lynx Digital. The police believe that kit is being stolen to order and possibly being sent to Europe or Russia. They are not ruling out a network of thieves working together.

DGP facilities manager Rowan Bray, whose company is one of ACJ's clients, commented: "This industry inevitably has to be open doored. Facilities can have very good security but there are a lot of visitors to keep track of."

Editworks has had two robberies this year, and its managing director, Jim Boyers, added: "It's impossible to prevent it. You have to minimise the chances but you don't want to present a fortress to clients."

The police have warned companies to be vigilant as the thieves appear to be getting inside information. They have even warned people to beware of people impersonating police officers. However, Boyers did not think the police were doing enough. 'It seemed like it could be a gang. Ascent Media had a VTR stolen right after ours and I informed the police that the CCTV footage from both companies might show that it was the same people. They never followed it up."

Topics