Chief executive Tim Griffiths said the deal was a huge breakthrough for the London-based print management group. He said it was the first of its kind in the financial services sector for the firm and evolved from talks between the two parties over the past year.

"We have had a relationship with Prudential over the past five years, so I think it thought we had earned our spurs," Griffiths said.

Prudential chief executive for UK and Europe, Mark Wood, said the contract would enable the company to focus its energies on its financial products and services.

The deal will involve the management of Prudential's document-based customer correspondence, such as applications and statements.

Griffiths said Williams Lea had been examining how the flow of information first comes into Prudential, is repositioned, then distributed.

Document capture and management business Formation e-Document Solutions, acquired earlier this month, will play a part in handling the contract (PrintWeek, 22 July). Significant amounts of variable data will be involved.

Griffiths has announced Williams Lea's intention to establish a production centre, possibly in Scotland. This, he said, will be complementary to Prudential's operations and Williams Lea's production facility.

The Prudential contract began on 1 May, and involves the transfer of 151 full-time employees and 106 temporary Prudential workers to Williams Lea.