Earthport soars on franchise deal

Global payments provider Earthport saw its share price ascend on Monday morning after it signed a franchise agreement covering Latin America and the Caribbean.Zink Financial will provide Earthport with a non-refundable franchise fee of £3.25m for the territories of Central America, South America and the Caribbean as the first year payment in a five year deal.Under the terms of the agreement Earthport will also receive professional service and monthly maintenance fees.Zink will represent the interests of a number of financial institutions in the region, such as existing Earthport customer, Hatfield Oak International.Loss making Earthport has been performing a strategic review which included the possibility of putting itself up for sale.