SHOPPING centre marketing and promotion company SpaceandPeople (S&P) has sealed a major expansion of its operations in Germany, sending its share price up more than 3%.
The Glasgow-based firm said subsidiary S&P GmbH has signed a contract to manage and sell promotional space in 36 shopping malls on top of the 10 centres in which it already operates.
The new agreement is with MEC METRO-ECE Centermanagement, a joint venture between Dusseldorf-based Metro Group and Hamburg's ECE.
MEC runs retail parks across the whole of Germany covering 900,000 square metres and housing in excess of 720 tenants.
Volker Skibbe, managing director of S&P GmbH, said: "Working with MEC is important to S&P in the German marketplace as its portfolio improves our geographic coverage of Germany as well as complementing the diverse nature of shopping centre types we can offer to promoters and operators.
"It also enables us to book pan-German campaigns for our agency and brand clients and to strengthen our retail client business."
In a research note, Seymour Pierce, SpaceandPeople's house broker, said the marketing company has seen half-year revenue in Germany rise 360% to £2.42 million and had turned a loss in the region into a profit prior to this latest contract win.
It re-iterated a buy stance on the stock and said: "Recent results showed the company has gained significant growth momentum in Germany in both the promotions and the retail merchandising units businesses.
"These results demonstrate strong momentum and underpin our confidence in the company."
Closer to home S&P, which employs around 45 people at its Glasgow headquarters, has contracts to sell space in Silverburn, St Enoch Centre, The Centre in Livingston, West Lothian, and at Dobbies stores.
In September S&P posted a 20% rise in net revenue to £5.2m for the first half of 2012 as pre-tax profit grew from £14,000 to £382,000.
Shares in the company climbed steadily through the year having started trading at around 50p. Yesterday the stock closed up 2.5p, or 3.1%, at 83p.
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