Shares in Westminster Group PLC rose on Thursday, as the company ratified a 10-year, multi-million dollar contract to provide security services at several airports in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Westminster Group is an Oxfordshire-based specialist security and services company. Shares in the company were up 14% at 3.94 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.

Westminster said it had ratified a contract, signed in 2021, to provide security services and support to five airports in the DRC.

The contract, signed between the UK-DRC Trade & Investment Mission, is for an initial period of 10 years with an option for a five-year renewal.

Westminster will provide ‘comprehensive ground security operations’ at four international airports and one national airport in the country.

The company will contribute the investment and expertise required to upgrade the airports’ security measures, including the provision of detection, surveillance and screening equipment.

As part of the programme, Westminster will also establish an aviation security training scheme for staff within the country.

Westminster said that it will finance these operations using existing resources, and the company has also engaged with advisors to secure funding beyond the initial stage.

Revenue will be driven by numbers of embarking passengers using the airports and funded by a per-passenger fee.

Based on current international embarking passenger levels, the company expects the contract to generate around $10 million in revenue in its first 12 months.

Chief Executive officer Peter Fowler said: ‘With a surface area equivalent to that of Western Europe [the DRC] is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second largest in all of Africa, and the 11th-largest in the world. It is also the most-populous francophone country in the world. Air travel is therefore an important and a necessary requirement within this vast country. DRC is extremely rich in natural resources and has the potential for sizeable economic growth. I look forward to Westminster having a long-term presence in the country and in playing our part in the successful growth and security of the country’s numerous airports.’

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