CNCT.L Regulatory News (CNCT)

12 Mar 2009 07:00



Smiths News PLC

("Smiths News" or "the Group")

Major Contract Wins

Smiths News, the UK's leading wholesaler of newspapers and magazines, is pleased to announce it has successfully negotiated new five year contracts with magazine distributors the Frontline Group ("Frontline") and Seymour commencing in April 2010. Frontline and Seymour have a combined 40% market share of magazine distribution in the UK.

The contracts have a combined wholesale sales value of approximately £288m per annum and will increase Smiths News' revenues by circa £84m per annum from April 2010. This reinforces Smiths News' position as the UK market leader.

Smiths News' market share of Frontline and Seymour titles will increase from 39% to 55%. The additional territories won will overlap with all but one of the News International territories that were secured last year.  In addition, the new contracts expand Smiths News' network by a further seven territories, providing an additional platform for future growth.

Frontline is owned by BBC Magazines Worldwide, Haymarket Media, H Bauer Publishing and Bauer Consumer Magazines. Seymour is 50% owned by Frontline and 50% by Dennis Publishing Limited.

Mark Cashmore, Chief Executive of Smiths News commented:

"Today's announcement is a significant step forward for our business and endorses our belief that service excellence is of paramount importance to our customers.

We have developed a sophisticated service offering over a number of years which has been central to our success today. 

Our ability to offer a scalable and flexible solution will deliver improved service levels and operational efficiencies for our customers and will drive further new business momentum for Smiths News."

Enquiries:

About Smiths News:

Smiths News is the UK's leading wholesaler of newspapers and magazines. The Group was formed on 1 September 2006 following the demerger of WH Smith PLC.

Smiths News distributes newspapers and magazines on behalf of all the major national publishers as well as a large number of regional publishers. The business serves approximately 23,000 customers across England and Wales, supplying large general retailers as well as smaller independent newsagents.

In addition to its distribution activities, Smiths News collects and processes returns, supplies sales information to publishers and provides a range of services for its retail customers.

Smiths News has an approximate 40 per cent share of the magazine wholesaling sector and an approximate 35 per cent share of the newspaper wholesaling sector in the UK.

Smiths News has 44 distribution centres across England and Wales, employing 4,000 staff.