A SECURITY firm, whose former boss branded its handling of a £284m London Olympic Games contract a humiliating shambles, says it is committed to restoring its damaged reputation after revealing plans to issue new shares and sell divisions of its business.

G4S, left with losses of £88m after failing to supply enough security guards for last year’s global sporting spectacle, announced plans to issue new shares to make up for the high-profile setback.

The company, which employs about 620,000 staff around the world, and about 2,000 workers in the North- East, has revealed plans to issue 141 million shares to existing shareholders and new investors and sell off a Canadian cash solutions business and US data storage company for £100m.

Earlier this year, the company, whose services include security for the Wimbledon tennis championships, port surveillance and immigration control with the UK Border Agency, pulled out of new bids for tagging criminals after Justice Secretary Chris Grayling accused the firm of overcharging for the work and saw the Government billed for the monitoring of dead offenders.

In the North-East, G4S provides security for the region’s magistrates’ and crown courts and Job Centres, and is behind security systems at Durham, Newcastle and Teesside universities.

It also supplies a patient transport service for the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and cleaning and catering services at Sunderland Hospital.

Ashley Almanza, who replaced Nick Buckles as G4S chief executive in May, said the firm was looking to next year to continue its growth.

He said: “We need to strengthen our balance sheet to be able to realise the group’s opportunity for substantial value creation.

“This year will be a year of consolidation for the group with the actions we are now taking starting to deliver tangible benefits during 2014.”

Last week, it was revealed the electronic tagging work, which G4S has pulled out of, has been handed to four new firms, including outsourcing company Capita, which has a centre in Darlington.