AN established ice cream business is celebrating scooping three contracts.

The Mark Toney Ice Cream Company won the licence to operate The Cloister caf, in Newcastle's oldest cathedral church, St Mary's Catholic Cathedral, capping a period of positive progress.

The business has also been awarded a Local Producer contract by Asda, as well as securing a large retail contract with Fenwick, whose food hall is the largest delicatessen in the region.

Anthony Marcantonio, director of the family business, said: "We are delighted with these three contracts. All represent significant strategic developments for our business, as our core business to date has been through our own outlets and by wholesale sales to the catering trade."

The company is based in North Tyneside and employs about 70 people.

The business, which celebrated its centenary in 2002, is still owned and run by the Marcantonio family, now in its fourth generation.