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BT announces retail division will split into separate companies as BT Sport launch approaches

By Angela Haggerty, Reporter

July 30, 2013 | 3 min read

BT has announced plans to split its BT Retail division into two separate businesses – BT Consumer and BT Business, this September.

Split: BT Retail will split into BT Consumer and BT Business

A statement from the telecoms provider said the split would allow the company to focus on delivering its two strategic priorities of “driving broadband-based consumer services and being the brand for business for UK SMEs”.

The announcement comes just as BT’s major new competitive venture, BT Sport, gets set to launch on 1 August.

Managing director of BT Retail’s consumer unit, John Petter said: “BT is in a four-way tussle with Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk for broadband customers and we are at the start of an exciting journey with BT Sport. There has never been a better time to be a consumer and we plan to up the ante in the coming years.”

BT has been in a fierce war of words with Sky since its BT Sport plans took off, with both broadcasters reporting each other to Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority over a series of complaints as the battle for customers has raged.

In May, BT announced a deal with the Press Association to create news and editorial content for its relaunched website.

Petter will become CEO of BT Consumer, while current MD of BT Retail’s business unit, Graham Sutherland, will head up BT Business. Both will continue to report to Gavin Patterson, who replaces Ian Livingston as BT Group CEO in September.

“BT Retail has delivered well for many years now contributing strong profits to the group. It is time however for the business to be split in two given the intensely competitive nature of the consumer market and our strong ambitions in the business space,” said Patterson.

BT Business CEO-in-waiting, Graham Sutherland, added that SMEs were the “life and blood of the economy” and central to BT Business’s plans.

The umbrella BT retail currently holds BT Consumer, BT Business, BT Ireland and BT Enterprises. BT Enterprises comprises a number of other services, including BT Wi-Fi.

Under the new structure, BT Enterprises, BT Ireland and BT Business will merge and form the new BT Business, although BT Wi-Fi and the consumer element of BT Ireland will move across to BT Consumer.

Consumer Behaviour Business Retail

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