Callcredit doubles revenue, staff and market share
3 April 2008
2007 is outstanding year for growth
• 2007 revenue increase of 105%
• Staff numbers growth from 126 to 224
• Market share increase from 5% to 10%
Callcredit, the UK's fastest growing credit reference agency, today announced record growth in 2007.
At the heart of Callcredit's success is a firm focus on building and maintaining outstanding customer relationships. The results of the organisation's independently-conducted annual client satisfaction survey*, which benchmarks clients for their views on the performance of Callcredit versus other CRAs, is testament to this success.
Customers rated Callcredit as the best performing supplier in the industry with customer support, flexibility, responsiveness and an innovative approach noted as particular strengths.
New and innovative products, including the Overindebtedness Initiative and CallMonitor - a daily alert service that allows lenders to keep a track of all customer activity - also contributed to the success of the business and helped double Callcredit's market share from 5% to 10%.
The organisation continued its commitment to investing in its employees in 2007. The doubling of the workforce was facilitated by the launch of the Callcredit graduate recruitment scheme, designed to attract the most talented newcomers to the credit industry.
Callcredit can also attribute some of its expansion and success in 2007 to the growth of parent company, Skipton Information Group. Strategic acquisitions by the Group have led to an expanded skillsbase among staff and a wider range of services for customers. In 2007 online payment service provider, Legatio Technologies Ltd, and analytics company DecisionMetrics joined the Group and earlier this year Skipton Information Group acquired Broadsystem, a communications company, specialising in the creation, management and execution of marketing service programmes. All three companies compliment the core competencies across the Group and are a key piece in the jigsaw of the Group realising its vision of becoming the leading supplier of consumer knowledge and information in the UK.
John McAndrew, Managing Director at Callcredit said:
"Callcredit has delivered another strong year of growth across all sectors including risk, verification solutions and collections and recoveries. Despite the 'credit crunch' and difficult economic times, the increases seen across all areas of the business are strong evidence of the effectiveness of our growth strategy and our focus on products that make a real difference to our customers. This has enabled Callcredit to deliver a profit two years ahead of schedule."
McAndrew continued:
"Much is made right now of the challenging times that may be ahead for businesses and consumers. However, over the course of 2008 we see plenty of opportunities for businesses such as Callcredit, that are able to respond to these challenges and deliver effective solutions that match current and future customer needs."
The phenomenal growth in 2007 also enabled Callcredit to expand its premises and upgrade IT and security facilities.
ENDS
*Survey carried out in 2007 by Customer Care Research
• Each respondent was asked to rate Callcredit on a scale of 1-5.
1 = Poor, 2 = Below Average 3 = Average, 4 = Very Good and 5 =
Excellent.
• This translated to mean performance scores rating us on a scale of 1 - 100. A score of 75+ is regarded as good to excellent.
Overall Service and Teams
• For overall service performance, including responsiveness to queries and timeliness of delivery, we were rated as very good with a rating of 75.
• For the performance of our Reception, Sales and Client Management Teams, we were rated an excellent 80.
Commercials and Products
• For competitiveness on price we were rated a very good 79.
• For breadth of product range and flexibility to client requirements we were rated a solid 73.
Original Expectation vs. Actual Experience
• The results for this section were very pleasing. Across the
four areas of value for money, implementation on time, good quality
service and constructive relationship, Callcredit is meeting your
expectations and is the best performing supplier in the industry
when compared with other CRAs. The average figures are as
follows:
Callcredit Competitor A Competitor B
Original Expectation 75 66 63
Actual Experience 77 62 62
Participants stated our 3 main strengths as:
1. Customer Support and Relationship
2. Flexibility and Responsiveness
3. Innovative approach
About Callcredit:
• Callcredit (www.callcredit.co.uk) is the UK's most innovative, state-of-the art credit reference agency, with an extensive range of information and value added services for businesses and individuals.
• Callcredit consumer provides consumers with online access to the details of their credit file at www.callcreditcheck.com
• Callcredit has harnessed state-of-the-art information technology with an unrivalled knowledge of the industry's needs to develop a range of innovative information solutions. Solutions that are enabling major lenders and a host of other blue chip companies to address regulatory requirements, make better credit decisions, target new customers more effectively and manage existing customers more profitably.
• Callcredit is one of six core businesses that form the Skipton
Information Group. The other five are:
• Database management company EuroDirect
• Market
analysis firm GMAP Consulting
• Online payment service provider, Legatio
• Scorecard development and
affordability assessment specialist DecisionMetrics
• Marketing services and database specialist, Broadsystem
• Following the publication of Sir James Crosby's report, Callcredit has joined forces with the other two UK credit reference agencies to offer expert advice for victims of ID fraud. This joined up approach will mean that victims can contact Callcredit who will then alert the other two agencies to the fraud on their behalf. Our ID fraud team will also work with victims to contact all lenders and ensure that fraudulent information is removed and the consumers' credit history is fully restored.
