KCom secures extension to call centre contract with BT

The Hull-based group’s KC Contact Centres arm won the £1.3m contract to continue providing outsourced services on behalf of BT’s Global Services division.

As a result, KC Contact Centres will continue to provide inbound customer contact services, including handling calls and emails, to a central government department. Head of KC Contact Centres, Tony Jopling, said: “We’re delighted that our contract with BT Global Services to support its outsourced contract with central government has been extended.

“It’s an important contract for us – BT has exacting standards for service delivery and their desire to continue working in partnership with us is a signal to other potential customers of the quality of the services we provide.”

As well as handling inbound and outbound calls, KC Contact Centres also provides wholesale directory enquiries services and professional consultancy ser- vices.

It has provided services to government departments on behalf of BT since 2004. Its other clients include Hull City Council, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, Telephonetics VIP and Maureen 118 212.

Janet Parkinson, commercial supplier manager at BT Global Services, said: “We only sub-contract to the best and most reliable suppliers and over time KC Contact Centres has proven itself to be one of these.

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with them.”

Earlier this year KC Contact Centres achieved the Customer Contact Association (CCA) global standard, recognising its commitment to customer service through recruitment, training, development and communication.

In 2010, KC Contact Centres was ranked among the top five UK call centres for customer service in the public sector, and among the top 25 UK call centres for customer service overall.

Parent company KCom, headed by executive chairman Bill Halbert, recently reported a 71 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profits on the back of new contract wins.

Pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 rose to £32.9m from £19.2m a year ago.

Revenues fell four per cent to £395.4m after the company withdrew from low-margin commodity-based operations.

Net debt was reduced from £116.8m to £82m, and KCom hiked its full-year dividend to 3.6p. It has pledged 10 per cent dividend growth over the next two years.

During the year, KCom won new business with firms including Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons, pizza takeaway firm Domino’s, law firm Eversheds and the NHS Business Services Authority.