An R&D ramp-up may be the precursor to a new major contract win for Accesso Technology (ACSO:AIM). The company specialises in attractions and theme park ticketing, queuing and payments technology.

It is committed to scaling up as part of its 100-odd site worldwide roll out with attractions operator Merlin Entertainments (MERL) following a landmark seven-year agreement in July 2015. Accesso anticipates completing Passport installations for Merlin by the end of 2017.

But there is growing speculation that the scale of investment could herald significant new business, with one analyst suggesting that a major deal could be worth an extra 350p on the current share price.

Half year results to 30 June 2016 showed a 120% hike in capitalised development expenditure to $6.2m, and sparked the launch of the Accesso Prism wristband device in November.

‘Merlin (and other) investment acts as a drag on forecasts through to at least 2017,’ explains Numis analyst David Toms. Together with fairly poor weather last summer, this has taken the shine has off the share price, currently £15.20. ‘The theme park market remains relatively early in the move towards electronic and mobile commerce and Accesso has built a market-leading position,’ he adds.

We have highlighted Accesso for years having first written about the company’s potential in September 2009 at 63.5p under the name Lo-Q. A major new customer being signed up would likely spark another swathe of share buying. (SF)

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