Punch awards £5m telecoms contract

STAFFORDSHIRE pubco Punch Taverns has awarded a £5m contract to business communications supplier SpiriTel.

The contract is to supply a multi-site converged voice and data service to more than 800 of Punch’s 7,100 UK sites. The contract is the largest awarded to SpiriTel to date and is expected to generate revenue in excess of £5m over its three year life.
 
Under the terms of the contract, SpiriTel will provide a wide area data network and hosted IP telephony service, using the group’s award winning VoIP platform.  

The service is expected to cover 5,000 connections across Punch’s managed estate. SpiriTel has provided maintenance services for legacy telephone systems at Punch since 2008, and the new contract is an extension of the group’s strategy to cross sell converged communications solutions into existing customers.
 
Commenting on the contract win, Alastair Mills, Chief Executive of SpiriTel, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract to manage the voice and data services of one of the UK’s leading pub operators.  

“This is a significant contract win, in the rapidly growing area of hosted telephony, and the scale of the deal highlights SpiriTel’s continuing ability to service large corporate customers using our award winning solutions.”

He added that the contract demonstrated the group’s ability to gain market share through the development of competitive, innovative solutions.

Bob Broadbridge, CIO of Punch Taverns, said: “We were very impressed with SpiriTel’s proposal, which gave us the technical solution we need, with a great service proposition and value for money. We were also impressed with their track record in the hospitality sector.

“We are looking forward to forging a closer working relationship with SpiriTel as we ensure our estate remains appropriately serviced in this rapidly evolving technological environment.”