(Alliance News) - Cirata PLC on Thursday said NatWest Group PLC has expanded the scope of its existing contract for its data migrator.

Cirata, formerly WANdisco, is a Sheffield, England-based data analysis platform.

The new contract with the state-supported lender is for three years. The total consideration is about USD320,000, with an initial requirement to move two petabytes of data.

Further, Cirata's shares began trading under the ticker CRTA on Thursday.

Its shares were untraded at 63.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning, but over the past 12 months the stock is down 88%.

"The rebranding of the company does not alter the company's business operations or financial framework," the company said on Wednesday.

It added that it thinks the time is right to renamed, as "part of a broad and extensive rebranding program. "

"With Cirata as a new canvas, we are creating a sharper and more compelling vision for the company. The company's turnaround is quickly gaining momentum with a new leadership team; new and effective governance and control mechanisms; an energized group of talented professionals; and a focused go-to-market and growth strategy. The new name reflects our transformation," the company said.

It has been a difficult year for the company.

In September, Cirata said its pretax loss widened to USD22.5 million in the six months that ended June 30, from USD7.0 million a year before. Revenue dropped to USD3.0 million from USD5.8 million.

Following the discovery in March of "significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent irregularities" involving one senior sales employee, Cirata said its sales pipeline has been "cleansed and qualified" and what remains is "robust and of high quality".

However, it admitted that the scandal was a "traumatic time for shareholders and employees" and had a "significant impact" on prospective customers and partners. Therefore, its sales pipeline is in the "early stages of a rebuild".

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

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