Re Agreement
Netcall PLC
03 June 2003
NETCALL PLC
NETCALL SIGNS INITIAL FAR EAST DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT IN JAPAN
Netcall, the supplier of call centre technology products, has signed its first
Asian distribution agreement with Digiberry, a Japanese technology distribution
company, via its JV Netcall Asia Pacific (Netcall APAC). This newly established
JV with Committed Capital, the Australian-based Corporate Advisory and Private
Equity firm, has been set up to market and distribute Netcall's flagship
product, QueueBusterTM, throughout the Far East and South America.
Netcall signed a memorandum of understanding with Committed Capital last year.
The agreement established the distribution JV for Asia as well as securing
considerable strategic input and managerial resources from Committed Capital in
return for an option package. To date Michael Liley, a Committed Capital
Partner, has been appointed chief executive of Netcall's main operating
subsidiary, Netcall Telecom and Anthony Lynn is heading Netcall APAC. Committed
Capital also has a 3.5% stake in Netcall. (See note to editors for more
details.)
Ron Elder, Chairman, commented:
'This distribution agreement is an important step in fulfilling our stated
strategy for international growth. The JV with Committed Capital has already
delivered a distribution partner in the key Japanese market. However, their
contribution extends beyond this to include strategic advice and the substantial
strengthening of our management team. We look forward to developing the
customer base in these important overseas markets.'
3 June 2003
ENQUIRIES:
Netcall plc (www.netcall.com) Tel: 01480 495 300
Ron Elder, Chairman
Michael Liley
College Hill Tel: 020 7457 2020
Adrian Duffield
Corinna Dorward
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Netcall plc
Netcall is an AIM listed company's whose main product, QueueBuster, eliminates
the need to be kept waiting on hold by call centres, giving callers the option
of hanging up, keeping their place in the queue and taking a free call back when
a live agent is available to speak to them.
Netcall recently announced a key contract with BT Group plc for over £1.5
million. Its blue chip client base also includes The Cooperative Bank, One Tel,
Royal and Sun Alliance, Thames Water, United Utilities and Vertex. All
Netcall's multi-site customers, who have bought QueueBuster for one call centre,
have placed additional orders for their other sites.
The QueueBuster product allows the call centre to manage volumes and costs
whilst delivering a greater level of customer satisfaction. Personalised call
back results in less caller complaints and shifts caller control to the call
centre, so that calls can be better managed. It also eradicates the wasted call
time when customers cannot be immediately connected to the right member of
staff.
NetCall has estimated that each day 734,850 calls are made to call centres from
work awaiting an answer for two minutes or longer and that hanging on the
telephone was estimated to cost industry around £62 million a year. Some of the
longest waiting times to call centres last up to 20 minutes. Customers who
endure the stress of holding often vent their frustration at agents, wasting
call time and increasing anxiety levels in call centre staff. QueueBuster
customers all comment that the product really helps to take away the frustration
and delivers the exceptional customer service they strive for.
The hardware and software technology provided by QueueBuster fits and works with
any existing telephone, internet or switch system. In the UK alone Netcall
estimates that over 1,000 call centres could benefit from using QueueBuster.
Netcall reported revenues of £861,000 in the year to 30 June 2002 and a net loss
of £2,250,000. In the six months to 31 December 2002 the company reported
increased revenues of £829,000 and a reduced loss of £490,000.
Committed Capital is a new breed of Private Equity firm specialising in helping
organisations to create significant improvements in shareholder wealth by
deploying its 'Executive Capital' operationally on behalf of current management
and shareholders.
Committed Capital seconds its executive shareholders to a client business,
working alongside existing management, to evaluate and improve every aspect of
the business to create new global financial horizons and realise untapped value
for the company.
Committed Capital acquired a 3.5% stake in Netcall in the private placing last
year. Netcall signed a memorandum of understanding with Committed Capital at
that time for an agreement in which Committed Capital would be issued options to
subscribe for up to 15% of the share capital of the company, exercisable in
three tranches at exercise prices of 10p, within one year of the date of grant,
15p within two years of the date of grant and 20p within three years of the date
of grant, per Ordinary share. The arrangement with Committed Capital was set up
to establish a joint venture with Committed Capital to market QueueBuster in
Asia, Australasia and South America as well as to facilitate the securing of a
global distribution partner for QueueBuster.
Digiberry Corporation is a Japanese technology distribution company, which has
been involved in the start-up and development of Japanese operations of several
notable western companies, including AST Research, Dell Computer, Gateway
Computers, Getty Images and recently PrintLife. Digiberry will be distributing
Netcall's QueueBusterTM product, which has seen particular success in the UK
following a recent contract with the BT Group for over £1.5 million.
Michael Liley has a background in marketing, strategic and general management in
several different industries in Australia, the UK and Asia. For the last two
years he has been a partner in the Australian based Corporate Advisory Group,
Committed Capital. Prior to joining Committed Capital, he was a member of
National Australia Bank's senior executive group where, amongst other roles he
was General Manager, Global Retailing and Channel Development, responsible for
modernising the bank's channels globally, as well as running the retail banks
around the world. Immediately prior to his leaving the Bank in mid 2001, he was
responsible for the development of a division of the bank building new
businesses of the future, especially as they relate to online and new economy
activities.
Anthony Lynn joins Netcall APAC from Committed Capital, where he worked on the
Executive Capital team and has considerable leadership, management, sales,
product development and manufacturing and sales experience in the technology
sector.
He held leadership positions at engineering firms before joining GEC in 1991 in
its systems based GEC Satchwell Control Systems business. After seven years with
GEC, he moved to the Swiss-based Asea Brown Boveri, one of the world's largest
electrical engineering companies, as General Manager and Executive Director of
ABB Instrumentation and Control. In 2000 he became CEO of the Macquarie Bank
backed ASP start-up, BiziWorks. Prior to joining Committed Capital, he was
General Manager Asia Pacific and Group Vice President - Product Development for
international solid state storage vendor, Platypus Technology, where he led the
successful engagement of Mitsubishi and Hitachi (both of whom subsequently
invested in the company) as distribution partners in Japan along with Samsung in
Korea.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange