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JT Group CEO steps down to lead Internet of Things business

After nearly 12 years as CEO, the Board of JT has agreed that Graeme Millar will step down as JT Group CEO. He will remain in Jersey, to head-up its recently sold Internet of Things (IoT) business.

John Diamond, who has been with JT for 11 years – most recently in Australia where he is Senior Vice-President, Asia Pacific – will act as Interim CEO of the JT Group, while a recruitment process for a permanent replacement is carried out.

Phil Male, JT Chair, said “I would like to thank Graeme for the passion and devotion to JT he has shown over the years and the work he has done to transform JT into one of the planet’s most innovative and commercially astute telcos. This has been achieved whilst retaining the company culture that aims to truly support and serve our customers. Whilst both Gigabit Jersey and our international growth have been major successes during Graeme’s time in office, I am most proud of the way that he lead JT to support our communities when Covid hit.

“I know that Graeme will work closely with John Diamond who has for many years been part of our CEO succession plans. John will arrive in Jersey, later this week to take up the position of Interim Group CEO, working with Graeme for a few weeks to ensure a smooth transition. In July the Board will launch the process to select a new permanent CEO.”

Graeme Millar added: “It has been the greatest honour of my lifetime to lead JT, but with Gigabit Jersey complete; a successful sale of our world beating IoT business and our Covid support efforts starting to wind down it is the right time for JT to select a new leader for the next decade. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the next phase of growth of JT IoT and especially pleased that this will allow me to continue to live in Jersey.

“I would like to thank all of my colleagues at JT that have made the last 12 years so enjoyable and successful. Finally, special thanks to the three Chairmen that I have served under: John Boothman, John Stares and Phil Male, without whose guidance and support I would have achieved so much less.”



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JT creates and sells Jersey’s biggest digital technology business

St. Helier, Jersey – June 24th 2021. JT is delighted to confirm it has reached agreement to sell a majority stake in its Internet of Things (IoT) division to the family backed private equity investor Perwyn.  The new business will remain headquartered in Jersey.  JT were advised exclusively on this deal by Arma Partners.

This division was created as part of JT’s international expansion drive in 2014 and has doubled in size every year for the last 3 years. It provides device connectivity services to customers around the world. There are almost 10 million JT SIMs in active use today. The sale has been timed to maximise the excellent growth potential of this successful business by securing substantial investment from a new owner who specialises in providing risk capital to rapidly growing technology businesses.  JT will continue to benefit from this growth by supplying services to the new company and retaining a minority stake in it.

Phil Male, JT’s Chairman said: “I am immensely proud of the hard work, talent and commitment which the JT team have shown to get our IoT business to this point.  Together we have grown this business from inception into an entity now worthy of a sale at this scale. This sale not only shows the vast potential and value of Jersey’s digital sector, but also demonstrates that within Jersey we have both the human talent and the funding to enable and build globally successful digital businesses.

Now is the right time for JT to sell the majority of this business, in order to further turbo-charge that success. Whilst retaining a minority stake and becoming a supplier to Jersey’s biggest technology business, we believe that in Perwyn we have a new owner for the business with the vision and risk appetite to fund and grow this young, dynamic and growing global Jersey business.”

Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, said:

“This is extraordinarily good news for Jersey and a clear marker of just what can be achieved in the digital economy. We welcome this significant inward investment to the Island, which will lead to growth and exciting employment opportunities for Islanders.

“The agreement clearly shows that Jersey is gaining a global reputation as an incubator of successful digital businesses, and I am determined that this will represent the start of an even more exciting time for Jersey’s digital sector. “

Andrew Wynn, Founder and Managing Partner of Perwyn, added:

“We are extremely pleased to have secured the purchase of JT’s IoT business. We have been watching JT’s development in this space for some time with great interest and are impressed by both the speed and scale of their success and growth in this area.  They are now one of the most attractive players in this global market.  The process of dealing with JT and the island of Jersey during this transaction has been collaborative and productive.  We are confident this relationship will bring benefits to Jersey, as well as augmenting the island’s future attractiveness as an incubator for leading-edge innovative businesses. We look forward to working with the JT team to complete the transaction, which is one of important size and scale for us.”



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Communications boost for local cancer charity, with JT partnership

This year the JT Guernsey Team have decided to offer their support to Guernsey Cancer Support, a small charity made up of volunteers who help those living with or impacted by cancer, their families and carers.

The Channel Islands telecoms group has kick-started its 12-month commitment with a people donation of £500 and a number of free-roaming devices and sims that the Charity’s members can use when travelling off-island for treatment, giving them one less thing to worry about.

Gill Syvret-Berboda, Chairwoman of Guernsey Cancer Support, said: ‘We are incredibly grateful to JT Guernsey for choosing us as their charity of the year. Like so many other charities, it has been a difficult 12 months particularly during the lockdown periods when we were unable to hold our monthly meetings or spend time with members and give support to those affected by cancer.  

‘Improving connectivity will enable us to help our members who are travelling off-island for critical treatment to stay in touch with loved ones. This is going to make a huge difference to us and all the people who use our services.  A team like JT, that is clearly passionate about being part of what we do, is already making a difference and means so much to us.’

Tamara O’Brien, Deputy Managing Director, JT Guernsey said: “Unfortunately, one in two people will be affected by cancer in some way, and the chances are we all know someone, likely more than one person, who has been affected in some way by this disease.

“For this reason alone, we are all fully committed to supporting Guernsey Cancer Support as they care for our loved ones. It’s very important to us that we get involved with causes which are dedicated to helping others because without additional support, especially in difficult times, many services would not be so readily available.”

Helping local charities and initiatives is embedded into JT’s culture; it’s a great way to bring people together and give back to the communities we serve.

Throughout 2021, JT will focus their support on charities which helps people living with cancer and their families. The Guernsey office has chosen Guernsey Cancer Support and the team in Jersey will partner with Macmillan Jersey to make the best use of JT’s expertise to help develop digital patient services and to make a positive impact where it is most needed.



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Progress Report 2020 details a strong year for JT’s core business

St. Helier, Jersey: JT Group has today published its Progress Report for 2020, describing a strong year for its core business.

Overall, the Group’s Financial Statements detail an increase in profit before tax of 17% on 2019, at £4.7m – JT was also able to maintain a healthy dividend to its shareholder, the Government of Jersey, of £6m (2019: £7m).

The strong performance of the Group’s core activities meant that the cash generated by the business increased by 30% on 2019, and the level of net debt reduced by 41%.

Total Group revenues fell by 13% as a result of a one-off strategic decision to exit Voice Trading business, but that had little impact on profits, as it was low margin.

The Progress Report also explains how JT played its part in supporting islanders to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by doubling broadband speeds to 1Gb/s at no extra cost to support people working at home, providing free local landline calls to its customers, and suspending charges for both late payments, and exceeding agreed data limits.

In addition, the Report details the success of the Group’s Internet of Things (IoT) division which was created by JT in 2014 and has doubled in size every year for the last 3 years. It provides device connectivity solutions to customers across the world.

JT Group Chairman, Phil Male, commented: “Clearly, 2020 needs to be seen through the frame of COVID-19, and in the light of what many people experienced in that year. JT played its part to support the community in any way it could, perhaps notably by doubling broadband speeds to help islanders to work from home. I would like to thank our people who pulled together brilliantly under some really tough circumstances to make that happen quickly, and with the minimum of disruption – I know I speak for the whole leadership team when I say how very proud we are of them all. 2020 was a year when we were all tested – but JT has come through it strongly and is very well set-up to continue supporting the islands as we go forward.”

Graeme Millar, JT Group CEO, added: “2020 was a year when our whole community faced considerable challenges, and I would like to echo Phil’s comments about how well the JT team pulled together in the face of such tough circumstances.

From a trading point of view, it was a very solid performance. We had to contend with the negative effects of Brexit, the pandemic and general volatility in global markets. But we took a prudent approach to those challenges, protected our core business and looked to focus on new opportunities for growth. That core businesses performed very well indeed, and proved how resilient the JT Group is. And we see excellent future opportunities both for our Internet of Things division, but also for Fraud Protection Services, and for our international business generally. Closer to home we enabled the cultural shift to working-from-home, something which demonstrated the deep capability of our network; we will continue to invest in that to make sure the islands have the essential infrastructure they need to prosper.”

ENDS

You can read JT’s Progress Report 2020/21 and Financial Statements here >



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Jersey talent stands tall next to the world’s largest businesses

JT’s frontline Customer Experience teams are up against some of the biggest business names from the business world after being chosen as finalists in two categories at the International Digital Experience Awards.

Two of JT’s customer experience (CX) initiatives have been shortlisted twice in the Best Use of Customer Feedback category, and JT’s Field Engineering Worx App, developed in-house, during the COVID-19 pandemic to help digitise the case management for JT Engineers, is in the running for the Best Use of a Digital Platform.

Both CX entries are competing in the same category as the global energy giant Shell and the Indian telecoms company Tata Communications.

The winners will be announced on 22 July after presenting their initiatives in full to a distinguished panel of judges from around the world.

Graeme Millar, JT’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “I’m so proud of the individuals whose hard work, dedication and brilliance shine a light on Jersey. It’s not the first time our Customer Experience teams have been up against some of the biggest names in the world of business, so we understand the challenges of being measured alongside these brands and are delighted to be recognised as their peer. It really demonstrates, that our local talent is up there amongst the best and how technology and the use of digital channels is improving the customer experience.”

Tamara O’Brien, Group Head of Corporate Communications, Brand & CX , said: “Making the shortlist with not just one, but three entries is a fantastic achievement and I’m so thrilled that our people are being recognised for their genuine dedication to providing great customer service. They did that while we were all facing daily challenges during the pandemic, at a time when what we do best suddenly became essential, every JT team member played a key role in keeping our community connected.’’

The International Digital Experience Awards recognise innovation and best practice as millions of people moved to becoming digital-first customers during 2020 and 2021.