A SOUTHAMPTON firm has signed a multi-million-pound contract which it believes will allow it to expand.

D&E Office Solutions, in Shirley, has agreed to pay Nottingham firm VOW, one of the UK’s biggest wholesalers for office supplies, £3m over the next three years.

For managing director Matt Smith, the deal means that the firm will be able to expand its business to deal more than 26,000 office supplies, including stationery, furniture, printers and copiers, to customers across the country.

Matt, who has been in charge since he bought out the firm from his father David in 2008, said that the deal was done thanks to the “hard work” of the staff making sure the firm weathered the storm from the recession.

It means that the Shirley Road-based firm, which has been running since 1978, will be taking on another two members of staff.

Mr Smith said: “Our success is down to a lot of hard work and creative marketing and above all having a good team around me.

“We have seen significant growth over the last few years. We have grown by about 45 per cent since I took over.

“The firm was profitable then and it has continued to grow.”

He added that one department of the business, the Green Office division, had allowed the firm to expand and had secured contracts with FIA Formula E, the championship for electric cars, among others. The deal came after the firm decided to review its arrangements with a previous supplier to ensure the best service and the best choice of products.

Mr Smith added: “As well as offering great value for money, VOW showed levels of openness and integrity in their approach that we felt mirrored the values in our own business.

“We are confident that our partnership with VOW will be instrumental to even more of this growth in the years to come.”