The Walmart-owned supermarket group had carried out an extensive re-tendering process over several months. In a statement, the retailer said: "We put a brief to the market for a provider who could deliver all our requirements, offer new POS solutions, innovation and excellent value for money.

"We received a range of excellent pitches, and conducted a thorough appraisal of all the bids. The Delta Group scored highly across the board and, as a result, we will be offering a contract to them.

"This decision means that, sadly, we will be ending our contract with Bezier from May 2011. We have been working with Bezier for a number of years and they have provided a fantastic level of service to us throughout this time. Should we re-tender a contract again, they would certainly be on the shortlist."

Delta Group was unavailable for comment on the win at the time of writing. It is understood that the London-headquartered business will open an office in Leeds in order to service the account, and a number of existing Bezier staff will be transferred to Delta under TUPE regulations.

Bezier chairman David Mitchell said: "We wish both of them luck. Delta are in for quite a ride. Our staff who work on the Asda account have been absolute heroes, and it is good to see Asda acknowledge that."

Mitchell said the potential loss of the Asda work had been factored in to Bezier’s ‘balanced manufacturing’ strategy, and in the group’s newly agreed finance facilities.

 "Our lenders have been absolutely aware of the new situation and our facilities and funding going forward reflects that. We’re pretty confident that the capacity will be filled."