Notes from the City: Clipper Logistics puffs on major contract; Cranswick celebrates robust Christmas and Zoo Digital is named top 10 innovator

Leeds-based Clipper Logistics has signed a new contract with British American Tobacco.

The new 4 year contract will extend through to the end of 2020.

Under the new agreement, which also includes e-commerce support for Vype, BAT’s vapour business, Clipper will be providing UK logistics operations including warehouse operations and delivery to all BAT Customers in the UK.

Steve Parkin, executive chairman of Clipper, said: “We are delighted to have been selected for this significant contract with BAT. This builds on the existing 25 year relationship the two businesses have had and the new contract win and extension of coverage to the whole of the UK is a testament to our approach to proactively building client relationships and delivering solutions for customers.”

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Food producer Cranswick has benefitted from a “robust” Christmas trading period.

Export sales, particularly in the Far East, meant that results were in line with expectations in its third quarter to December 2016.

It said its acquisitions, of Crown Poultry in April 2016 and Irish pork business Dunbia Ballymena in November 2016 were integrating well and work has commenced on a purpose-built continental products factory in Bury, Greater Manchester.

Cranswick’s board said it was “confident in both the prospects for the remainder of the current financial year and the continued long term success and development of the business.”

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Zoo Digital has been named one of the top 10 Innovators of 2016 in a report by the organisers of TV Connect, an industry event for the entertainment industry.

Zoo ranks eighth in the survey for its localisation and digital distribution innovations, appearing alongside Amazon, Sky, Google, BBC and Apple.

Challenges for operators of streaming services include the complexity of coordinating global launches across multiple territories as well as piracy and security.

Zoo says its cloud-based approach addresses these challenges, launching an ‘ultra-secure’ digital screener for streaming video content; an enriched metadata service to enable content discovery and a compliance editing service to adapt TV and movie content for different territories during international release.

Dr Stuart Green, CEO, ZOO Digital said: “The entertainment industry and the way in which consumers view content recently has undergone the most transformational change since the introduction of VHS. Businesses have therefore had to adapt and innovate to meet ever changing demands. We are delighted to be recognised by our peers for our role in this evolution and to be named alongside some of the biggest global names in our industry.”