Fulcrum toasts whisky contract

Fulcrum Utility Services said it had secured a 'landmark' contract with whisky makers in the highlands of Scotland.

The firm has signed a deal with Chivas Brothers and Angus Dundee Distillers to provide gas infrastructure to four distilleries in the Speyside region to support their conversion from heavy fuel oil to gas.

The £7.6m contract, beginning immediately, will be delivered by Fulcrum over an 18-month period.

The Cayman Island-registered company said the contract underpinned the board's view that full year performance would be in line with current market expectations.

Chief Executive John Spellman said despite a backdrop of macro-economic uncertainty, there continued to be significant opportunities that Fulcrum was well-positioned to secure.

"The contract win is a further endorsement of our renewed business model focused on providing high quality customer service and the expertise to deliver large scale, complex engineering projects," he said.

The business has been undergoing a turnaround strategy since it was bought from the National Grid in July 2010, with the new management trying to change what it called an "inefficient cost base and operating model".