SpaceandPeople on track for growth after contract wins

SpaceandPeople, the Glasgow-based promotions and marketing firm, said it is already seeing the benefits of a major contract win with Network Rail.

Chief executive Matthew Bending

The company, which sells space for marketing activities in shopping centres, retail parks and city centres, won exclusive rights to work across all Network Rail stations in the UK in a deal signed in September.

The company said it had already led to a significant increase in enquiries and created a strong sales pipeline for 2016. The firm also recently won a deal to handle promotional space in British Land shopping centres.

Chief executive Matthew Bending said: “These are important wins and will help us maintain sales in the UK.”
Although net revenues fell to £26.5 million in 2015 from £31.6m the previous year due to factors including a fall in sales in the UK and currency issues which affected its German operation, pre-tax profits increased to £1m from £600,000.

Although Bending said 2016 will see only modest growth in profitability, the “behind the scenes transformations the group is making will reposition and strengthen our offer which we believe will result in a more sustainable and growing business”.

Fiona Orford-Williams, an analyst at Edison Research, said that with the Network Rail contract and the recent British Land win, there is “plenty of promise for future growth” for the firm. She said the shares traded at a discount to other similar businesses.