Smiths News signs 5-year distribution deal with The Telegraph

Newspaper distributor Connect Group said on Friday that Smiths News has signed a new long-term contract with The Telegraph to distribute The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

The contract, which runs from October 2019 to September 2024, includes all of Smiths' existing distribution territories with The Telegraph, securing annual revenues of more than £100m at current market values and accounting for about 15% of its newspaper sales.

Smiths News has now secured 80% of its total newspaper and magazine revenues under new long term contracts until at least 2024.

Chief executive officer Jos Opdeweegh said: "I'm delighted that we have agreed a new contract with the Telegraph. The accelerated renewal of our publisher contracts has been a strategic priority this year, and since September 2018 we have successfully renewed over £900m of annual revenues, underpinning the long-term sustainability of Smiths News and its contribution to the Group as whole."

At 0940 BST, Connect shares were down 0.3% at 38.90p.