mhance has appointed Andy Cowdrill as Chief Revenue Officer following its acquisition by SilverTree Equity.

Cowdrill joins the Microsoft partner with more than 20 years of experience in UK enterprise technology, including 15 years in Microsoft-related roles. He has held senior sales leadership and digital transformation positions at Microsoft, Ciber and Pythagoras.

He will oversee a combined commercial structure spanning sales, pre-sales, marketing, alliances and sales development. The appointment comes as mhance expands its work across Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, Power Platform, and Data & AI.

His remit includes driving growth in mhance’s existing vertical markets and expanding into adjacent sectors through both organic activity and acquisitions.

Growth plan

The business has been reshaping its strategy since its acquisition by London-based private equity firm SilverTree Equity in 2025. It is aiming to deepen its position as a Microsoft-focused partner while broadening its sector reach.

mhance has an established presence in the not-for-profit market and is targeting industries including distribution and construction. It plans to continue investing in both sector-specific and broader offerings.

Chris Allan, Chief Executive Officer of mhance, said the appointment would support the company’s next phase of growth.

“The appointment of Andy Cowdrill as Chief Revenue Officer is another significant building block in our strategy to evolve mhance into a scalable, high-growth leader within the Microsoft ecosystem. Andy’s deep understanding of the Microsoft landscape and his proven ability to build high-performing teams make him the ideal leader to drive our next phase of growth. As we continue to position mhance as a Microsoft-first, AI-enabled partner, his leadership will be critical in connecting our technology capabilities to the tangible business outcomes our customers expect,” Allan said.

Cowdrill takes up the post as Microsoft-focused software and services providers respond to changing customer demand for cloud, data and artificial intelligence tools. The market has also seen consolidation among partners as firms seek broader reach and tighter integration across product lines.

His role is intended to bring revenue-related functions together under a single leadership structure, a model often used by technology companies to align sales, channel relationships and marketing activity more closely.

Sector focus

Against that backdrop, mhance has been building scale in core Microsoft software and services. Its portfolio centres on business applications and related tools used by not-for-profit and commercial customers undertaking digital transformation programmes.

The company plans to build on its existing strength in the not-for-profit segment while expanding further in selected commercial industries, including distribution and construction.

Cowdrill described the role as a continuation of his work in the Microsoft partner market.

“Joining mhance feels like a natural progression given the strength of its customer base and the clarity of its strategic direction. The opportunity is significant, particularly as the Microsoft partner landscape continues to evolve and consolidate.”

“Our immediate focus will be on deepening relationships across our existing customer base while building a scalable go-to-market engine that supports long-term, sustainable growth. From there, we will continue to expand our presence in key vertical sectors while bringing the full breadth of the Microsoft platform across cloud, data and AI to our customers in a more integrated, outcome-focused way,” Cowdrill said.

Absa has expanded its use of FICO technology for fraud prevention, fraud investigations and debt-collection communications, improving fraud handling and collections results.

The South African lender now uses WhatsApp to contact customers when it detects suspected fraudulent card or digital transactions, allowing them to confirm activity quickly. If a customer does not have a smartphone, the system can fall back to a recorded voice note or SMS.

The approach increased self-solve cases by 47% for digital and card fraud and improved fraud-investigation customer communication by 121%.

Containment rates also rose after the WhatsApp rollout, with card fraud containment up 29% and digital fraud containment up 33%. Absa defined containment as resolving fraud at the initial point of contact.

Alongside its fraud work, the group has applied the same communications system to collections. It uses voice and WhatsApp channels to reach customers in financial distress, while segmenting them by risk profile to determine different treatment paths.

According to figures released by Absa, promises to pay more than doubled after WhatsApp was added to its collections strategy. Amounts collected also rose between 2024 and 2025, with year-on-year growth more than doubling.

Fraud response

The fraud process is tied into Absa’s existing fraud-detection systems. When suspicious activity is identified, the communications platform sends an interactive WhatsApp message within milliseconds so customers can indicate whether a transaction is genuine or fraudulent.

If a customer confirms fraud, a fraud representative is automatically brought into the conversation. The aim is to shorten response times while reducing the need for staff involvement in straightforward verification cases.

“Absa serves 13 million customers across Africa, and therefore recognized the critical need for constant adaptation and innovation in fraud prevention strategies. Absa operates within a dynamic banking environment shaped by rising fraud risks, customer vulnerabilities, and mounting regulatory pressures. To protect our customers and support them when they need us most, we needed smarter, faster ways to communicate,” said Ally Mafunzwaini, Executive of Absa Fraud Solutions at Absa.

Absa described itself as the first among South Africa’s five biggest banks, and the only pan-African bank, to use WhatsApp both for fraud prevention and for communication throughout the fraud case journey.

Collections focus

The collections work comes as South African consumers face pressure from inflation and higher interest rates. Banks across the market have been looking for lower-cost ways to maintain contact with borrowers while directing more intensive support to customers struggling most with repayments.

At Absa, this has meant using digital prompts for some customers and more hands-on restructuring support for others. More granular segmentation has helped it tailor communication methods and collection strategies more closely to customer circumstances.

“Together, these initiatives powered by FICO have transformed how Absa engages with customers during moments of financial stress and fraud risk,” said Moremi Mabe, Head of Collections, Absa Home Loans. “Customers now experience timely, personalized, and empathetic communication.”

FICO said the work at Absa received a 2026 FICO Decision Award, judged by an independent panel. The award recognised the bank’s results in fraud management and debt collection.

Nikhil Behl, President of Software at FICO, pointed to the broader use of digital communications tools in banking customer contact. “Absa’s fantastic results demonstrate the power of deploying intelligent omni-channel communications technology across the credit lifecycle,” he said. “Their commitment to innovation and customer protection exemplifies the kind of forward-thinking leadership we celebrate with the FICO Decision Awards.”

One of the judges also highlighted the reported impact on customer communication. “The judges were impressed by Absa’s strong results improving customer communications across the business,” said Lisa Morgan, technology journalist and contributor at InformationWeek. “Absa has clearly improved customer trust using FICO’s technology.”

The financiers behind TG Jones are considering both store closures and rent cuts, according to The Sunday Times, as they bid to keep the struggling high street brand alive.

Private equity fund Modella Capital purchased around 500 WH Smith high street stores in early 2025 in a deal that cost between £40 million and £76 million.

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WH Smith, which had been a feature of the UK’s high streets for over two centuries, sold the stores in order to focus on its travel business.

This included a number of Oxfordshire-based premises, with Oxford, Didcot, Wantage, Abingdon, Witney and Chipping Norton all having shops which were subsequently rebranded as TG Jones.

TG Jones in Stroud town centre (Image: Newsquest)

When asked whether any of these stores are under threat the business refused to comment, with 5,000 people employed by the brand across the UK.

However, The Sunday Times has said that TG Jones is set to unveil new restructuring proposals, which could lead to up to 100 of its shops shutting down and rent cuts for its high street landlords.

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This would be done through a ‘cram-down’, a measure which would require Modella to prove to a High Court judge that the only alternative would be to put the business into administration.

According to the Financial Times, TG Jones was chosen as a completely new brand name last year to reflect that the business would be widespread across the country’s high streets.

As part of the deal to take over the business Modella agreed not to close any store for a year, with the end of that period currently approaching.