CPP invests in new IT platform

York-based CPP, which was admitted to AIM earlier this year, has chosen Halifax-based SSP to provide a single platform IT system across the 13 countries it operates in. The new

system will support the group’s focus on digital technology, while ensuring the business operates more efficiently, CPP said.

Charles Crawford, chief operating officer at CPP, told The Yorkshire Post: “It’s about having the right IT system to take the business forward..we did want to partner with somebody in the UK, and ideally with somebody in shouting distance of York.”

Around 400 of CPP’s 900 staff are based in York. Following the latest fundraising, Hamish Ogston, the company’s founder, owns 43 per cent of the business, while Phoenix Asset Management Partners has a 40 per cent stake. CPP is also searching for a new CEO, following the recent departure of Brent Escott, who had helped to improve its performance after a troubled period.

Mr Crawford said that Mr Escott had “strengthened and stabilised this business at a time of real need”. CPP was fined £10.5m by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2012 for mis-selling insurance products. After he arrived in 2013, Mr Escott worked with the regulators, banks and card providers to complete a redress scheme for customers.

Mr Crawford said the fundraising had boosted staff morale, and it was helping to create a “stable, energised business.”