Vertex Outsourcing Secures Customer Service Outsourcing Deal With SouthStar Energy in Atlanta, Georgia

LIVERPOOL, England, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertex, a leading international business process outsourcer, today announced the signing of a 10-year, large-scale contract with SouthStar Energy Services LLC (SouthStar) in Atlanta, Georgia. SouthStar does business in Georgia as Georgia Natural Gas (GNG).

The contract includes the provision of customer care, back office administration, remittance processing, bill printing and outbound correspondence for GNG's natural gas customers which number approximately 500,000.

The announcement follows an intensive 12-month selection process. More than 20 suppliers originally expressed an interest in becoming an outsourced service partner with SouthStar. Only three suppliers made it to the short list.

"We are confident that Vertex will help us successfully achieve our business goals and build on our reputation for superior service," said John Jamieson, SouthStar's senior vice president of retail operations.

Commenting on the win, Richard Graham, chief executive officer of Vertex, said, "We are delighted that SouthStar Energy Services has chosen Vertex to deliver this large-scale contract. It validates our strategy to develop new client partnerships based on our deep energy and customer management experience in North America and the UK. We are looking forward to working in partnership with SouthStar to deliver a powerful end-to-end solution that will take customer service to a new level."

For more information about Vertex visit our website at www.vertexoutsourcing.com

About Vertex

Vertex is a leading international provider of business process outsourcing and technology services. As the UK's leading provider of innovative customer management and back office solutions, we understand how important high performance is to our clients. Operational and customer service excellence is what our clients expect, and our solutions deliver measurable results -- that's why we are the partner of choice for some of the UK's leading brands in the commercial, financial services, utility and public sectors. The company has 8,000 employees across 3 continents -- the UK, North America and India, and delivers global solutions and capabilities to a wide range of clients, 365 days a year.

Vertex is wholly owned by VTX Bidco Limited and backed by private investors.

For more information, see www.vertex.co.uk

About SouthStar Energy Services

SouthStar Energy Services (http://www.southstarenergy.com) is a preeminent retail natural gas marketing company operating in seven states. Based in Atlanta, SouthStar is a joint venture between AGL Resources, Inc. (http://www.aglr.com), and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. (http://www.piedmontng.com)In addition to operating in Georgia as Georgia Natural Gas, SouthStar also does business in Ohio as Ohio Natural Gas, in the Carolinas as Piedmont Energy Company, in Florida as Florida Natural Gas, and in other parts of the Southeastern United States as SouthStar Energy Services.

For more information, see www.southstarenergy.com or www.onlygng.com.