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Press Release

Fusion Creates 600 New Jobs

Growth for local contact centre means additional expansion to Peterlee

Immediate release: 14 December 2006

Sunderland 08, February 2007 - Local employer. Fusion Contact Centre Services, which is part of the BGL Group today announced plans to open new offices in Peterlee, County Durham, creating 600 new jobs phased over the next three years.

The expansion follows phenomenal business growth for the BGL Group, bringing the total number of jobs created in the North East to 900. Fusion has an existing site on Hylton Riverside in Sunderland where they employ 350 people. The success of the Sunderland operation played a major factor in the decision to open a second site in the region.

With over 1.5 million customers the BGL Group has experienced significant year-on-year growth in the insurance market, particularly in the affinity area of the business, which provides sales and customer support for insurance customers of major high street names, including Marks & Spencer Money, Bradford & Bingley, Post Office and Debenhams.

Mike Sherwood, Associate Director, Operations Development said, “The opening of a new contact centre in Peterlee is not only fantastic news for Fusion, but also a huge vote of confidence in the people of our region. Fusion’s existing site in Sunderland has gone from strength to strength over the last 4 years and has proven that the quality of service we offer our clients via people in the North East is second to none. This is a marvellous opportunity for new and existing employees to be part of the next phase in the development of our business and it gives us great pleasure to be announcing plans for further expansion to the Bracken Hill Business Park.”

The new offices at Peterlee will be in addition to the Sunderland site, which currently occupies 26,000 square feet employing over 350 staff. The new site is on schedule to go live in March 2007 significantly boosting job prospects in the local area.

Durham County Council Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said: “We are delighted to welcome Fusion to the Bracken Hill Business Park. Their choice of this first-rate location clearly endorses the County Council’s original decision to create at Bracken Hill a new and much-needed kind of business accommodation for the County, improving job prospects for the local community as a whole.”

The search for the additional staff is already underway, and the team at Fusion is actively recruiting for customer support agents, team leaders and managers, with both part-time and full-time opportunities on offer. Previous call centre experience is advantageous however not essential as full training is provided.

Mike Sherwood, continued. “Candidates wishing to apply do not necessarily need previous call centre experience as we offer full training and support. All new starters receive intensive training that covers technical systems, product knowledge and the soft skills required when servicing our customer’s requirements. People will then move through a support environment staffed by experienced employees from our Sunderland site and perfect their skills before joining their teams in the wider centre.”

The company operates flexible working hours with both full and part time work available (from 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays). Teams usually comprise of around 10-12 people and remuneration packages are amongst the best in the industry.

Employees are recognised for performance on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis with reward based upon an individual’s skill level and overall contribution to the business.

For job further information on job opportunities with Fusion contact the Recruitment team on 0870 160 9674.