Caudwell signs £170m deal with Energis

Caudwell Communications, the company behind Phones4U, is paying telecoms company Energis £170m to route phone calls from UK 0870 numbers to destinations around the world.

The two-year deal means Caudwell customers can set up non-geographic phone numbers and have calls directed to offices in, for example, Newcastle or India depending on the time of day or the number of calls it receives.

Caudwell extended its original contract with Energis, signed last year, after it increased its customer base from 200,000 to 550,000.

Energis boasted that Caudwell was moving business away from Cable & Wireless in favour of its services.

Craig Boundy, a sales representative for Energis, said: "It's a huge contract for us. Over the last couple of years they've moved from 100 per cent with Cable & Wireless to 80 per cent with Energis. They've gone through growth themselves so we've grown with them."

The C&W press office declined to comment on the matter. "We wouldn't be able to comment on speculation. I'm afraid we can't help you on this one," a spokesperson said.