Security firm out of gas after Corrib

A security company that worked at Shell’s Corrib gas project in Co Mayo has sought protection from its creditors after a slump in its business.

The firm which provided security for Shell during protests at the Corrib gas project now faces staff redundancies

Neil Hughes of the accountant Baker Tilly Hughes Blake has been appointed interim examiner to Business Mobile Security Services (BMSS), which trades as Senaca and Integrated Risk Management Services. Sources said the company’s finances were hit by the ending of the Corrib project, coupled with large costs to cover redundancy for affected staff.

BMSS was founded in 2005 by Terry Downes and Jim Farrell, two former members of the Irish Army Ranger Wing. It had turnover of €28m in 2012, but the figure slumped to €19m in 2014 and the company made a small loss, its latest accounts show.

Downes swapped his BMSS shares for a 70% stake in Senaca in Kenya in 2013. BMSS was owed €1.25m by the Kenyan company at the end of 2014, but had written off €500,000 of the amount owed.

The company also paid €270,000 to buy back shares from Downes’s ex-wife Elizabeth Downes, following a shareholder dispute. Hughes will have up to 100 days to source investment and restructure the company’s finances.