Vianet wins contract with Visa Europe

RNS Number : 1683S

Brulines Group PLC

16 November 2011

 



Press Release

16 November 2011

Brulines Group plc

("Brulines" or "the Group")

Vianet wins contract with Visa Europe

Brulines Group plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure and forecourt solutions sectors, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Vianet has secured a contract with Visa Europe to provide contactless payment technology for the vending machines located at its European headquarters in Paddington and its offices in Reading and Basingstoke.

Visa Europe is the driving force behind the growth of contactless payments in Europe. The growth of contactless-enabled cards in circulation in the UK has been substantial, and the figure of 17 million contactless-enabled cards currently in circulation is expected to exceed 30 million by the end of 2012 (source: Visa Europe).

The Vianet project, which has seen its cutting-edge contactless acceptance solution, Touch&Pay™, installed on a dozen vending machines across Visa Europe's three UK offices, has been met with a positive response from Visa staff and visitors. More than 10,000 contactless transactions have been processed in just six months.

The results of the project demonstrate the potential for contactless payments in the vending industry. Contactless technology allows customers to pay for low-value items by presenting their bank card or NFC-enabled mobile phone to a special reader fitted on the front of the vending machine, helping reduce the time it takes to pay.

Mark Austin, Head of Contactless at Visa Europe commented: "We have been working with Vianet since summer last year and they have quickly delivered a reliable and efficient solution. Having gone live with our project in the spring, we didn't expect the 10,000^th contactless transaction milestone to pass so quickly.

"We believe that there is a significant opportunity for contactless in the vending industry and we look forward to seeing wider deployment of contactless technology."

James Dickson, CEO of Brulines, said: "The Board is pleased to have secured a contract with such a well-known name as Visa; contactless payment is extremely well-suited to the vending sector given the transaction value of purchases, and we are excited that Vianet is at the forefront of this sector.  The pilot with Visa has shown very encouraging results, and we look forward to a longstanding partnership with them."

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Enquiries:

Brulines Group plc
James Dickson, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume	Tel: [phone]
	www.cenkos.com

Media enquiries:

Abchurch Communications
Joanne Shears / Mark Dixon / Oliver Baxendale [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.abchurch-group.com

About Brulines

Brulines Group is focused on the provision of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the UK's leisure and petrol forecourt sectors. Since its admission to AIM in 2006, the Group has grown both organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions to give the Group access to key vertical markets. The Group operates two divisions which comprise five key products:

LEISURE DIVISION

Dispense Monitoring (DMS)	The Group's core product, DMS, is widely used by owners and operators within the UK licensed on-trade, especially the tenanted / leased pub sector. Flow meters connected to draught beer dispense lines send data via an on-site communication panel to a secure central database. Liquid volumes by fount, draught wine or post mix are tracked as they are served, thereby helping customers to maximise sales, service and quality as well as managing their costs. DMS is installed in over 22,000 pubs and manages data for more than one in three UK pubs.
i-draught (formerly BQM)	A more recent and rapidly growing product offer is i-draughtTM, an extension of the Group's DMS, which scrutinises the quality of products running through beer lines in a bar; measuring volume, temperature, flow rate and liquid type (e.g. beer, cleaning fluid or water) at the point of dispense. i-draught is the first system to provide effective measurement of true yields on draught products. Actual dispense volumes are compared with till transactions to identify shrinkage from products given away, pilferage and wastage. i-draught measures the precise temperature of every pint as it is dispensed, the time taken to dispense each drink, and automatically identifies the liquid allowing customers to know exactly when lines are cleaned. Wherever they are, customers can stay in control through accessing their information on a secure web site.
Gaming  Machine Data Services	The acquisition of Coin Metrics in May 2007 was a strong strategic fit with Brulines' existing Machine Insite business which already provides gaming machine data management and consultancy services to operators within the pub, club and leisure markets. Customers benefit from state-of-the-art real-time data capture and reporting systems that deliver improved machine profitability and operational security.
Vending  Telemetry	The Group's subsidiary Vianet is a pan-European provider of telemetry and cashless solutions and data applications to the vending industry. Vianet provides services for all vending management needs; from operations, sales, field services, national accounts to senior management.

FUEL SOLUTIONS DIVISION

UK Petrol Forecourt Data Services

The Group's wholly-owned subsidiary, Edensure, supplies key management information to independent, multi branded owner, and supermarket petrol forecourt operators in the UK which helps reduce loss of fuel and improve profitability. Edensure provides petrol retailers with an unrivalled level of accuracy in the monitoring and management of their wet stock, using the most sophisticated analytical techniques available worldwide. This division has been further strengthened by the acquisitions of Energy Level Systems in March 2010, the UK distributor of OPW Fuel Management Systems tank gauging solutions, and Retail & Forecourt Solutions in June 2010, the market leader in fuel pump calibration, adjustment and legal verification, and also a leading provider of forecourt audit and compliance services.  The acquisition of LBI Installations Ltd, also in June 2010, brought additional expertise in the area of web-based contract management solutions for forecourt operations.

Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees, Brulines employs more than 240 people. 

For further information, please visit www.brulines.com

 

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