Traders in the heart of Brighton’s shopping district have hired a new security firm.

The board of the business improvement district (BID) that covers most of The Lanes and North Laine was forced to look elsewhere following the collapse of Sassco (Brighton) Ltd, which in 2006 signed a five-year contract worth £250,000 to patrol the area.

Following a tender process, the board decided to award the remainder of contract to Resolve Security, which has clients, including nightclub operator Luminar, which owns Oceana in Brighton.

In a letter to members announcing the decision, the BID board said: “We are pleased to announce that the successful company is Resolve Security Limited, a well established local business with an impressive collection of credentials including Approved Accreditation Status with the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

“Resolve was the only participant in the tender process to hold this prestigious ACS status and stood out among the other candidates by not just meeting but going beyond the brief we set. We hope that Resolve will be able to build on the excellent standard set by Sassco, both improving security further and helping the BID area as a whole.”

Kevin Roberts, managing director of Resolve, which employs about 600 people, said the contract win was “well overdue”.

He added: “We vet all our staff, never hire anyone without interviewing them first and go through their full working history for the previous five years.”

Although the contract only lasts until the BID runs out in July next year, Mr Roberts is hopeful that traders will vote to extend the scheme across the city.

Meanwhile, Andrew White and Sue Maund of Brightonbased involved specialists White Maund have been appointed liquidators of Sassco (Brighton) Ltd.

It is believed that the company owed tens of thousands of pounds to the Inland Revenue as well as thousands to other Sussex-based businesses.