CFO steps down as CPP drops into the red

Chief financial officer at York-based credit card insurance business CPP Group has stepped down, at the same time as the company announced it had dropped into the red.

It reported a loss of £1.9m last year, compared to pre-tax profits of £21.9m the year before.

This is despite assurances that it would be “materially ahead” of expectations in an update last year. At the same time, chief financial officer Michael Corcoran announced his departure. Corcoran will be leaving at the end of April 2017, and the hunt is on for his successor.

A statement from CPP Group said “Michael has made an invaluable contribution to the stability of the Group and provided continuity during a period of potential risk to the business, and the Board wishes him well in his future roles.”

The company did however experience a slowdown in revenue decline. Turnover from continuing operations declined 4% to £73.6m for the year to December 2016, compared to a decline of 20% the year before.

Restructuring costs of £1.17m, up from £711,000 the year before and relate to employment settlement costs.

Chairman Sir Richard Lapthorne said that the company was “dominated by its history”. He said: “CPP had become an organisation preoccupied with the past, which was UK-centric in its focus and behaviours, despite the extraordinary potential developing in its overseas markets.

“ In 2016, we have started work to redefine the organisation in order to refocus our resources towards building a successful international operation, using the talent and skills in our overseas businesses as well as those that we have in the UK. These changes will not happen overnight, but the organisation is progressing, led by a Group Chief Executive who has been skilful in keeping morale high whilst introducing difficult changes. This has been a solid start to building a better future.

Jason Walsh, chief executive officer, commented: “Since my return to the business last May, I have undertaken a review of the business and made a number of significant operational improvements. 2016 was a year where we laid the foundations for our future growth.

“We have started to see encouraging signs of customer growth although there is still work to be done. The strength of our international business is particularly encouraging, most notably in India.

“New product development is key for our business as we continue to provide assistance products to our customers. We will grow our business both organically, through product development such as OwlDetect, and through acquisitions where complementary. Following the year end, we acquired Blink Innovation Limited, an Ireland based business that will provide us with leading product development capability for our global markets.”

Walsh was put in post following a boardroom coup last year, ousting the company’s turnaround chief executive.

It has been making recovery since then, recently acquiring an Irish technology business.

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