Astron Group has won a five-year print management contract, worth around 25m, with Granada:Compass, the hospitality and food services sister company of Granada Media.
The deal will include Granada:Compass's Forte hotel group, which comprises over 140 Le Meridien, Heritage and Posthouse hotels in the UK. It will eventually be rolled out to other areas, including Travelodges, which will take the total value per annum up to 10m.
Granada:Compass's UK non-food supply chain director, Rick Hillier, said: "Astron's experience in managing marketing print campaigns with other large companies and their innovative e-commerce tracking services were deciding factors."
Astron chief executive David Mitchell said it was a "great opportunity" to win the contract at an "exciting time" in Granada:Compass' development. The group was formed earlier this year when Compass merged with Granada's catering business. It has a 7.5bn turnover, with 200,000 employees in 80 countries.
Astron has commissioned its second Sun Spark IT server to provide support for its growing e-commerce activities. Mitchell said hits on the group's website had doubled within three months to over 82,000 in June.
"Customers are quickly migrating to trading via the web," said Mitchell. "They can see real cost and time benefits of having their product catalogues available for online ordering and Visa card payment."
Astron's other blue-chip clients include Save & Prosper, British Midland and BUPA.
Story by Gordon Carson
Have your say in the Printweek Poll
Related stories
Latest comments
"And here's me thinking they bought the Docklands Light Railway."
"15 x members? Why don't they throw their lot in with the Strategic Mailing Partnership (SMP) and get a louder voice?"
"Some forty plus years ago I was at a "sales" training seminar and got chatting to the trainer after the session had finished.
In that conversation he told me about another seminar he had..."
Up next...

Further breathing space
'Serious group' interested in Highcon, new deadline set

Automation welcomed
Colourbridge enhances efficiency with new Duplo multi-finisher

New business unit includes OpSec