Big Technologies secures NI contract, appoints chairman and CFO

(Sharecast News) - Big Technologies announced on Tuesday that it has secured a significant new contract through its subsidiary Buddi to provide electronic monitoring services in Northern Ireland. The AIM-traded firm said the contract, awarded by the Department of Justice, was scheduled to begin on 1 September and would run for five years, with the possibility of two extensions - one for three years and another for two years.

If fully extended, the total value of the contract over the 10-year period was expected to be £20m.

"We are very grateful to the teams at the Northern Ireland Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD) and the Northern Ireland Department of Justice (DoJ) for this award," said interim chief executive officer Daren Morris.

"We look forward to moving into the implementation and transition phase and delivering the highest quality of service to this important new customer."

In a separate announcement, the company also confirmed two key leadership changes.

Alexander Brennan had been appointed chairman of the board with immediate effect, having served as interim chairman since July last year, and as an independent non-executive director since February 2022.

Additionally, Mike Johns had been named chief financial officer designate as part of the company's succession planning.

Johns was joining from Aptitude Software Group, where he served as CFO from May 2023 to March this year.

He would assume his board position at the next annual general meeting, pending the approval of the 2024 annual report and accounts.

"We are pleased to welcome Mike to the group and I look forward to introducing him to the Buddi team and working closely with him over the coming months as I hand over my finance related responsibilities and oversee completion of the audit and publication of the 2024 annual report and accounts," Daren Morris added.

At 0948 GMT, shares in Big Technologies were up 2.33% at 74.7p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.