Friends Life spokesperson confirms no job losses planned for Exeter office

The BBC revealed this morning that it had seen evidence that Friends Life was reviewing whether or not to keep their Exeter base at Clyst St Mary, where about 80 people are employed.

It was revealed by the BBC's Business Correspondent Neil Gallacher that "A report from the land agents acting for the owners suggested they are likely not to stay."

Derek Phillips, from the Exeter Chamber, said on BBC Radio Devon this morning "They are important - not as important as they were a few years ago when they were extremely large, but even so, the loss of 100, 200 or even 300 jobs would be a concern to everyone in this area."

However, a spokesperson for Friends Life has since told The Exeter Daily "I can confirm that Friends Life has approximately 80 people based in Winslade Park and Diligenta, Friends Life's BPO provider, has approximately 340 people providing services to Friends Life. There has been no public announcement about our plans for the Exeter office, however we did communicate with our colleagues in December 2012 following speculation surrounding the future of our presence in Exeter.

"Our internal announcement confirmed that we were reviewing our office requirements in Exeter as part of a programme of consolidation, we have agreed with the Winslade Park Landlord that, at a minimum, we will continue to occupy the building until the end of 2014, at present the review is still underway, there are no further developments to announce and the site continues to operate as usual. I can also confirm that any decision relating to our office requirements will not impact on Friends Life jobs in the Exeter area."

Click here to see the BBC's full report.