Lornefield Pensions Administration / BB-Demo – Discovery
Callscheduled
Lornefield Pensions Administration · 2026-10-13 16:00
Douglas Baird, Chief Operating Officer, asked whether the brain could return after the group-standard tool fell short on member queries and trustee calls. The group side said no decisions were made and group systems stay the default.
What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Douglas Baird, Chief Operating Officer, asked whether the brain could return after the group-standard tool fell short on member queries and trustee calls. The group side said no decisions were made and group systems stay the default.
What happened: The call is dated 13 Oct 2026. Douglas said the arrangement ended at the start of the year as the group required, and the group-standard tool has not served member queries and trustee calls.
Customer view: Fiona Mackie, speaking for the group, framed the brain as filling a gap, not replacing the group standard. She wants facts, the termination terms and a recurring price line that is exact.
Commercial: Nell Ashcombe suggested Growth. She gave the deal as fifty thousand, a total that includes implementation and is not an annual price.
Watch: Group approval is needed for any spend, and Fiona said it stays a lead until she has seen the paperwork. The 29 Jan 2027 target was described as a plan, not a promise.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Nell Ashcombe sends the proposal, the order form with term and notice, and the one-page data note by the end of the week.
- Daniel Okafor walks Douglas's people through what was asked of the brain before.
- Fiona Mackie takes the proposal into the group approval process.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The group must approve any spend and group standard systems remain the default.
- A figure could be repeated as an annual price when fifty thousand is the deal total including implementation.
- The group wants termination terms and notice period set out plainly before the next conversation.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Growth tier for relationship managers and operations, joining calls, member-query tickets and fee position in one place.
- The brain runs inside the customer's own Snowflake account, which answers the group's data concern.
Call prep
Current to 14 Oct 26Douglas Baird gave notice on 2 Feb 2026 and the Growth term ended on 2 Apr 2026. He now wants to talk again because the group tool falls short on member queries and trustee calls. This call tests the £50k win-back before Dunmarra Group approval.
Context: The Growth term ended on 2 Apr 2026 after the group moved to Signalvane, and no contract is live. The win-back deal sits at CRM stage lead at £50k, a total that includes implementation, not an annual price.
Approach: Treat this as discovery for a new agreement. Nell should first confirm whether the proposal and plain-language termination terms promised after the 8 Oct 2026 call reached Douglas, then test the £50k against what Lornefield would actually use.
Watch for: Fiona Mackie is not on the call and is the route to Dunmarra Group approval, so Douglas cannot commit budget alone. Exit terms and the Snowflake account question may decide the outcome.
Booked
Updated 9 Oct 26Transcript
Fiona Mackie NoneGood afternoon. I should say upfront that I have a hard stop. Let's keep this practical.
Nell Ashcombe NoneUnderstood, Fiona. Afternoon, Douglas. Before anything else, what do each of you need to leave this call with?
Douglas Baird NoneGood afternoon, Nell, and thank you for making the time at the end of the day. By way of summary: we ended our arrangement with you at the start of this year, as the group's position required, and in the months since, we've found that the group-standard tool does not serve the member queries and trustee calls as we had hoped. I'd welcome a conversation about whether the brain could return.- Fiona Mackie NoneTo be clear from the group's side, no decisions are made today. Group standard systems remain the default. What I need is facts. What are the termination terms, and what is the exposure?
- Nell Ashcombe NoneFair. Say what happened, say how you know. The order form for any new arrangement would carry the notice period and the term plainly, and I'll send it with the proposal so you can read it, not take my word. I won't quote clause wording from memory.
- Fiona Mackie NoneGood. Send it before the next conversation, not after.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneAgreed. Can I say first, Douglas, that the way things ended wasn't a failure of anyone's. You did what was needed at the time.
- Douglas Baird NoneThat is kind of you. In fairness, it was a decision I took with some reluctance, and I'd rather look forward.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneThen forward. What's the gap, specifically? What would the brain be asked on a Monday that the current tool can't answer?
- Douglas Baird NoneTwo things principally. When a trustee rings with a question about a scheme, the relationship manager needs the recent calls, the open member queries and the fee position in one place, quickly. And the member-query tickets: the current tool cannot join those to what was said on the call.
- Fiona Mackie NoneI'd add, the group tool does a great deal. It doesn't do everything. The relationship managers have said so. That's the part I'm interested in. Not replacing the group standard. Filling a gap.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneThat's a useful way to frame it, and it's honest. I'd say the same: we shouldn't pretend the brain replaces what the group has chosen. It sits over the sources, inside your Snowflake account, and answers across them.
- Fiona Mackie NoneInside our Snowflake. Meaning the data does not leave. Please confirm that in writing as well.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneYes, in writing. It's built and run inside the customer's own account. I'll put it on one page.
- Douglas Baird NoneMight I ask about the shape of what you would propose? Last time we were on Starter and then discussed Growth, but I confess I'd lost track of where we stood.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneGrowth is the tier I'd suggest now, because it's built for more than one team, and you'd want the relationship managers and operations both on it. The deal as it sits on our side is fifty thousand. I want to be careful: that's the deal value, the total, and it includes the implementation. It isn't an annual price.
- Fiona Mackie NoneSo fifty thousand is the total, including the one-off work. What is the recurring element?
- Nell Ashcombe NoneIt will be on its own line in the order form. I'd rather give you the document than a number off the top of my head, because I don't want a figure to be repeated up the chain as something it isn't.
- Fiona Mackie NoneThat is sensible. Cost synergies are part of what I'm measured on, so I need the recurring line to be exact.
- Douglas Baird NoneAnd I should be candid, the group would have to approve any spend. I cannot make a promise on its behalf.
- Fiona Mackie NoneCorrect. I can't commit budget either without sign-off. What I can do is take a clear proposal into that process.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneThat's all I'd ask. So, the shape of it. We're targeting the end of January, 29 Jan 2027, as the date to have this settled. That's a plan, not a promise, and it moves if the group's process needs longer.
- Douglas Baird NoneI think that's reasonable. I would not wish to hurry it.
- Fiona Mackie NoneLet's say it stays a lead until I've seen the paperwork. Fine by me.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneThen next steps, so I've got them right. I send the proposal, the order form with the term and notice, and the one page on data staying in your account. Daniel Okafor, who knows how your teams used the brain, can walk Douglas's people through what's been asked of it before. Fiona, you take it to the group.
- Fiona Mackie NoneAgreed. I have to go. Send it by the end of the week please.
- Nell Ashcombe NoneIt'll be with you by then. Thanks, both.
- Douglas Baird NoneThank you, Nell. I appreciate the frankness. Kind regards.