CPP Group

CPP Group plc
Public company
Traded as LSE: CPP
Industry Life assistance
Founded 1980
Headquarters York, United Kingdom
Key people
 Eric Anstee, Executive Chairman
Revenue £325.8 million (2010)[1]
£48.7 million (2010)[1]
£27.2 million (2010)[1]
Website www.cppgroupplc.com

CPP Group plc is a British-based company selling life assistance products. It is primarily based in York but has subsidiary offices in Tamworth. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2015 when it moved on to Alternative Investment Market.

History

The Company was founded by Hamish Ogston in 1980 as a provider of card protection insurance.[2] It acquired its Homecare Insurance and Mobile Phone Insurance businesses in 2001, Metris Enhancement Services in 2003 and Leapfrog Group in 2009.[3] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2010.[2]

Brent Escott joined CPP on 17 June 2013 and replaced Paul Stobart.[4]

Operations

The Company provides protection against loss, theft and fraudulent use of financial cards, identity theft protection, phone protection insurance.[5]

FSA Probe

On 29 March 2011 the company announced that the Financial Services Authority had launched an investigation into the sale of one of its products to UK customers. The Financial Services Authority's investigation centred on allegations that CPP overstated the risk of identity theft when selling insurance for that purpose. CPP suspended the sale of the product with immediate effect with the intent of creating a new package, possibly without insurance.[6][7]

CPP later launched an uninsured product called "Identity Safe" which will replace their existing product "Identity Protection".[8]

On 20 February 2012 CPP announced that its shares had been suspended on the London Stock Exchange for a two-week period to allow for negotiations with the FSA to take place. CPP maintained that the proposed redress for alleged mis-selling would force the company to close and that the action being demanded by the FSA was disproportionate.[9]

In the following week a number of MPs voiced their concerns about the way in which the FSA's review had been carried out and the impact that closing the company would have on the staff and the local economies of the areas in which CPP's offices are based.[10]

Staff representatives also contacted the FSA to communicate their commitment to the customers they serve and the firm.[11]

On 25 February 2012 an announcement was made indicating that a compromise agreement had been reached. This was reported as be being expected to cost CPP in the region of £10–15 million.[12]

As a result of the investigation and the expected impact on profits CPP announced a voluntary redundancy programme extending to around 120 employees in the UK arm of the business.[13]

CPP shares were re-listed on 27 March 2012.[14]

As part of the FSA investigation, the FSA has stated that the referral partners including the high street banks will also be investigated and the number of consumers affected by this mis-selling scandal could be significantly higher.[15]

The company used to have an office in Manchester city centre which specialise in the running of Airport Angel - its airport lounge entry product. The Manchester office closed in Dec 2014 and the operation was moved to the York office. There was also formerly an office in Chesterfield,[16] however, this closed in 2013 when, as a result of the FSA Probe, business partners lost confidence in the company and contracts were lost.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 CPP Group: Annual Report 2010
  2. 1 2 CPP Group goes for float to pay down debts Evening Standard, 18 February 2010
  3. ↑ CPP Group: History
  4. ↑ Board of Directors
  5. ↑ CPP Group: Our products
  6. ↑ CPP shares plummet after FSA probe revealed thisismoney.co.uk, 29 March 2011
  7. ↑ FSA investigate ID theft insurance firm CPP Choose.net, 12 December 2011
  8. ↑ CPP Group: Identity Safe
  9. ↑ CPP shares suspended as FSA calls for new review, The Daily Telegraph, 20 February 2012
  10. ↑ FSA inquiry puts 1,000 CPP jobs at risk in York, BBC, 22 February 2012
  11. ↑ CPP staff complain to FSA about probe, Reuters, 23 February 2012
  12. ↑ Credit card insurer CPP faces £15m bill for review, BBC, 25 February 2012
  13. ↑ CPP seeks voluntary redundancies The York Press, 12 March 2012
  14. ↑ CPP plummets on restoration of listing Hargreaves Lansdown, 27 March 2012
  15. ↑ High Street Banks Also Face Investigation For Mis-Selling CPP News Observer, 30 January 2013
  16. ↑ Timmins, Lee (7 April 2008). "CPP opens in Chesterfield". Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  17. ↑ "100 jobs to go at Chesterfield’s CPP". Derbyshire Times. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.

External links

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