Purple patch sees city firm earn prestigious Met Office contract
A CITY firm is on the up and up after landing a major contract with the Met Office.
Purple, of Marsh Barton, has won a prestigious contract to supply the Exeter-based weather centre with all its promotional merchandise for the next three years.
The deal, which could be extended, is worth more than £30,000 a year and will see Purple supply all of the Met Office’s mugs, pens, clothing and other branded items.
Purple secured the deal after a tough tendering process earlier this year.
Founder and director Amanda Lyon-Smith said: “It’s quite a coup for our business. It is great that the Met Office is confident that we are capable of supplying them. It’s win-win all around.
“We had already done lots of things for them for a few years previous to the three-year contract but they still had a contract with a firm in Bracknell, where they used to be located. It’s been very lucrative and prestigious for us to be connected to the Met Office.”
The news is the latest success for Purple, which was set up in 2004 by Mrs Lyon-Smith, her husband Robin and fellow director Rob Palmer.
Purple had a turnover of £500,000 last year and that figure is on target to exceed £1m this year. Projected growth in the next two to three years is expected to see turnover hit £3m.
The company has recently bought Hatton Textiles, a producer of promotional towels. Hatton’s Jim Hopper joined Purple as a director and four additional employees have also been hired.
This has led to a demand for bigger premises and the directors are now considering alternative sites for the future.
Mrs Lyon-Smith added: “We’re growing month by month. Our staff has tripled from an original four to 13 in less than four years.
“We have taken on four new people in the last three months and we will be looking to increase that shortly.
“We are looking to expand our premises. We need a more suitable space but it would have to be in this close proximity for our valued local staff.
“Our staff have worked very hard to keep up with demand.
“It’s a sign that firms are doing well because if they’re not, the first thing they cut back on is marketing — which is the one thing that companies should not cut back on if they want to grow.
“Everyone is working really hard. The staff have been very good.”
Purple works for some of the biggest organisations in the South West, including Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, Flybe, South West Highways, the city and county councils, Exeter University and College, as well as a host of smaller firms and even individuals.
Although 80 per cent of business is done on Purple’s doorstep, it also has European customers.
A Met Office spokesman said: “Purple won a competitive tender to provide corporate gifts for a three-year period.
“In terms of how we procure, we have to follow EU guidelines but wherever possible we like to engage small to medium-sized businesses.
“This would seem a perfect example of that.”
and Rachel Dare