Overseas growth and an acquisitive UK division at the core of listed firm’s success, says CEO

Since returning to global product innovation business CPP Group, CEO Jason Walsh has focused on steering the business through overseas growth and ensuring that the listed firm’s UK arm remains acquisitive in niche markets.

Walsh, who worked CPP Group when its head office was in York from 2002 to 2014, left the business as managing director of the UK organisation to join EY. In 2016, he returned to CPP Group as its global CEO and has since been at the helm, steering change and growth.

Earlier this year, the listed firm – which provides ancillary products to the insurance sector, for example travel insurance services – reported half-year revenues had increased by 18% to £51.3m. Walsh expects a similar revenue growth for the firm’s 2018 annual results.

It has been a significant couple of years back at CPP for Walsh. He has instigated operational changes that saw the Group’s headquarters move from York to East Parade in Leeds in November 2017.  CPP has two locations in York now, one where the UK headquarters have remained, and a second where the Group’s IT services are based. Walsh said it was important to have separated the Group and UK functions from one another and it was one of the first things that he implemented. CPP also announced its re-entry to the UK market in March this year.

CPP’s Leeds office

Walsh said: “What we are trying to achieve here is a real culture change. It has been important to keep a core set of principles and values, so everyone is aligned. For us, Leeds was an obvious place to choose to base of headquarters. Some of that is about access to skills and talent but a part of it is also being part of the fintech/insuretech growth. The opportunities that we have had to be part of events and activities in that space are a real draw.”

The firm’s Indian market is growing at a fast pace and Walsh expects around 60% of overall revenues to be from that area full this year; an increase from the 40% of revenues that accounted for last year.

The firm – which now has in excess of 7m live customers globally – also has bases in Turkey and China; and next year plans to amalgamate its several European offices into a European hub, as well as launch a presence in Mexico. Overseas has huge growth potential, said Walsh, and the UK market is increasingly crowded and reaching saturation point.

Walsh said: “India and China both have a rapidly growing middle class. They are becoming more financially mature and are now purchasing products and services that were previously aspirational. There has been an explosion of goods and the ways in which to finance a product.”

In the UK business, there were several acquisitions in 2018 which Walsh said were designed to add on niche services where further value and products/services could be brought into the group. In June, CPP acquired Valeos, a Yorkshire firm which provides services and products to companies in the insurance sector. It also bought Kynd – a cyber risk management business. “All of this is helping establish ourselves in the UK again,” said Walsh.

And there is more to come, said Walsh, adding: “We will be looking at making small to medium acquisitions or investments; nothing too large. We want to keep the management bandwidth reasonable. We have quite a flat structure now and a small senior team where I have direct management of all of the overseas markets. I am clear that we shouldn’t be overstretching ourselves.

“The investment and acquisitions we have made so far have all been at the cutting edge of their respective markets. We want to keep the entrepreneurial spark and be a fresh-thinking organisation rather than us acquire a new firm and overpower them. When acquiring a business, it is important not to forget why you bought them in the first place.”

CPP – which directly employs around 580 people across the world and creates further jobs through outsourced services – works with partners across the globe, most of which are in the financial services and insurance sectors. Walsh said that CPP was focused on delivering “long term value” and modernising the product offer, especially as digital accessibility rises and innovation becomes even more essential in a highly competitive market.

Walsh, who hails from Barnsley and now lives in Leeds, is often travelling around the globe with his role and believes it is important to hire the experts in each overseas markets to drive growth. Asked what he enjoyed about his role and the sector, Walsh said: “It is a really fast paced environment, things happen really quickly. It’s an exciting place to work – you just can’t grow unless you are responsive to the changes in the marketplace. If you don’t react, you get left behind.”