Executive Change: Caroline Cooper Hired As Customer Relations Manager at Lowell Group

Lowell Group, the UK’s leading debt purchasing company, has emphasised its commitment to treating customers fairly (TCF) by appointing a ‘customer champion’.

Caroline Cooper has been recruited to the new role of Customer Relations Manager and tasked with driving forward the strong TCF culture which Lowell’s senior management has already instilled throughout the business.

Prior to joining Lowell, Ms Cooper spent ten years within the Royal Bank of Scotland Group gaining experience in a number of relevant customer-service related roles including call centre management, complaint handling and service improvement. For the last 18 months Caroline has been teaching and doing voluntary work in Africa.

In her new role, Caroline’s main responsibility will be to ensure continued development of Lowell’s TCF policy by monitoring trends in customer issues, challenging business practices from a customer’s perspective and maintaining close working relationships with the industry’s regulatory bodies and money advice sector. She will also be responsible for managing Lowell’s customer relations teams and ensuring all customer issues are resolved in a timely and compliant manner.

Commenting on her appointment, James Cornell, Lowell Group’s CEO, said: “Caroline has one of the most important jobs within the company. We are totally committed to treating customers fairly and Caroline will be the customers’ champion, someone with specific responsibility for considering and challenging the way we do things from the viewpoint of the customer.

“Caroline will be actively seeking feedback from our customers and the money advice sector as we are determined to develop a more collaborative approach to helping people regain control of their finances.”

About Lowell:
1. Formed in 2004 Lowell Group is a specialist debt purchasing company. Lowell Group buys consumer debts from a range of blue-chip organisations and then manages the recovery of those debts, working closely with debtors to help them resolve their financial difficulties and pay off what they owe.

2.  In April 2008 Lowell Group was acquired by Exponent Private Equity and existing management for an undisclosed value.

3.  For the year ending 31st August 2008 Lowell Group reported an EBITDA of £20.6m on a collections turnover of £75.5m. The business employs more than 300 people at its state-of-the art HQ and customer contact centre in Leeds.

4.  Lowell Group’s performance has received industry-wide recognition. In November 2007 the company was named ‘Debt Purchaser of the Year’ at a national debt industry awards event and in March 2008 it was recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing businesses after being named ‘VC-backed business of the year’ in the Fast Growth Business Awards 2008.

5. Chief Executive Officer James Cornell was the Yorkshire Institute of Directors ‘Young Director of the Year 2007’ and earlier this year Chief Operating Officer Andrew Bartle was awarded the ‘Developing the Team’ award at the 2008 Institute of Credit Management Awards.