Fenmoor Specialty Underwriting / B-Brain – Negotiation
Callcompleted
Fenmoor Specialty Underwriting: documents · 2026-06-22 14:45
Fenmoor is negotiating a move from Growth to Enterprise. Richard Thorne questioned why a licence for 150 is needed when about fifteen people are active. Louise Carver will send a redline, and no signing date was given.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Fenmoor is negotiating a move from Growth to Enterprise. Richard Thorne questioned why a licence for 150 is needed when about fifteen people are active. Louise Carver will send a redline, and no signing date was given.
What happened: Negotiation on the move from Growth to Enterprise. Louise Carver will send a redline by the end of the week, and no signing date was offered.
Customer view: Richard Thorne asked why Fenmoor would buy a licence for 150 when about fifteen people are active. Owen Tallis agreed the case is not only about headcount.
Commercial: Priya Raman said the £125,000 deal total includes one-off implementation and is not an annual price. Louise wants sixty-day payment terms against B-Brain's thirty, and a short Growth extension in case paper is not signed by 30 Jun 2026.
Watch: Usage is steady, so the case rests on the sponsor, single sign-on, connectors and service levels. The board still has to approve.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Enterprise expansion terms
Importance
upsell
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
B-Brain
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Louise Carver to send a tracked redline by the end of the week.
- Priya Raman to send the split of the total, a connector one-pager, a clean order form and short Growth extension wording.
- Priya Raman to arrange for B-Brain customer success to walk Richard through the adoption plan.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Usage is flat at about fifteen active users of forty licensed, so the Enterprise value case is contested.
- Paper may not be signed before the Growth term ends on 30 Jun 2026, leaving a gap in cover.
- Procurement wants sixty-day payment terms and a meaningful service credit, and says list price is only in exchange for something.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Enterprise adds 150 users, single sign-on, an executive sponsor and freshness credits that the capacity providers care about.
- A wider rollout beyond underwriting operations could justify the expansion.
Transcript
Priya Raman NoneHello, hello. Can everyone hear me alright? I've got Owen with me, and I think Louise is already on.
Louise Carver NoneI'm here, yes. I can hear you fine. Richard's just finishing something next door, he said he'd be a minute.
Richard Thorne NoneGood afternoon. Apologies, I'm here now. Can you hear me?- Priya Raman NoneLoud and clear, Richard. Afternoon. Thanks for making the time on a Monday – I know what the diary looks like at this end of the month.
- Priya Raman NoneSo, quick recap of where we are – we're in negotiation on the expansion from Growth up to Enterprise, the current term finishes at the end of this month, and to keep momentum I'd really like to get this over the line by 30 Jun 2026 if we can. Happy to make this easy for everyone.
- Richard Thorne NoneBefore we go further. What decision am I being asked to make today?
- Priya Raman NoneFair question. Honestly, none today – I know you'll want to take it to the board. What we want is to leave this call with the terms clear enough that Louise can come back with a redline and you can take a clean proposal upstairs.
- Richard Thorne NoneGood. Keep it simple, please.
- Louise Carver NoneCan I just confirm which document we're all looking at? I have the order form you circulated last week, with our tracked changes on clauses on the term and on service levels. Is that the one you have?
Owen Tallis NoneIt is, Louise. We've got your tracked version open. What's the next dated step, though – that's what I'd like to leave with. Who signs, and when?- Louise Carver NoneSubject to contract, obviously. Our standard position is that Richard signs once legal and I have been through it. I can't give you a date on the call, and I wouldn't want to.
- Owen Tallis NoneUnderstood. Let's make sure we're talking about the same numbers first, then. Richard, you asked at the start what this costs you, all in – that's usually your question.
- Richard Thorne NoneIt is. What does this cost us, all in?
- Priya Raman NoneRight. So the deal total on the Enterprise expansion is a hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds. Now, I want to be careful with that, because that's the total value of the deal, and it includes the one-off implementation. It isn't an annual price. I don't want that to be misread when it goes to your board.
- Richard Thorne NoneI see. And what are we paying today?
- Priya Raman NoneToday you're on Growth at forty-four thousand a year, forty users. That's what's been invoiced and that's what's on the current order form, and nothing's overdue.
- Richard Thorne NoneMm. So the difference between the two is the uplift plus the implementation.
- Owen Tallis NoneBroadly, yes. I'd rather give you the split in writing than do the arithmetic live and have it quoted back to me wrongly. Priya can put the lines in a short note – subscription, implementation, and what falls away from the Growth term.
- Louise Carver NoneThat would help. I'd want the subscription and the implementation separate on the order form, not blended. We pay for implementation as a one-off against milestones, not annually.
- Priya Raman NoneTotally. We can lay it out that way. Implementation is a fixed fee under the Enterprise tier, so there's no open-ended time and materials.
- Louise Carver NoneGood. Then payment terms. Our standard position is sixty days, not thirty.
- Owen Tallis NoneThirty days is our standard, Louise. I'm not going to promise sixty on a call. Tell me what you'd trade for it and I'll take it away.
- Louise Carver NoneThat's a reasonable question. I'll come back to you on that. I'd rather understand the rest of the package first.
- Richard Thorne NoneCan I ask what Enterprise actually gives us that Growth doesn't? In plain terms. I don't need the technology.
- Priya Raman NonePlain terms. More people can use it – up from forty to a hundred and fifty. More of your systems can be connected. There's single sign-on, so your team log in the way they do for everything else. And there's a named executive sponsor on our side, which I think matters for the capacity providers.
- Richard Thorne NoneThe capacity providers. Yes. That is what they ask me about.
- Owen Tallis NoneAnd the service levels step up too. Faster first response on a priority-one issue, and a higher availability commitment. On Enterprise you're also credited if the nightly refresh is late, not only if the service is down.
- Louise Carver NoneWhich is where I want to go next. Clause on the credits. As drafted, the credit is a percentage of one month's fee. I'd like it to be meaningful, and I'd like the freshness commitment to be tied to a time of day in the contract.
- Owen Tallis NoneIt is tied to a time of day – seven in the morning, your local time, on business days. I'd want to check the wording before I say anything further about the credit percentage. The standard Enterprise position is what's in the draft.
- Louise Carver NoneThen I'll mark it up and you can tell me what's not acceptable. I'd rather argue over a redline than over the phone.
- Priya Raman NoneThat works for me. Louise, anything you'd want from us before you do that, to make it quicker?
- Louise Carver NoneTwo things. A clean copy of the order form with no tracked changes from your side, so I can compare against it. And the list of connectors you're committing to, with the days by which each goes live.
- Priya Raman NoneBoth fine. The connector commitments are in the schedule – I'll pull them out as a one-pager so you're not hunting through the form.
- Richard Thorne NoneHow many people use this today? Actively.
- Priya Raman NoneAround fifteen on an average month, out of the forty licensed. It's steady – not going up, not going down.
- Richard Thorne NoneThen why would I buy a licence for a hundred and fifty?
- Owen Tallis NoneThat's the right challenge, and I'd rather you asked it now than at the board. The honest answer is it's not only about headcount. It's the sponsor, the single sign-on, the connectors and the service levels. If it were only seats I'd tell you to stay where you are.
- Priya Raman NoneAnd to be fair, Richard, the plan would be to roll out beyond underwriting operations – that's what the implementation is for. Daniel on our customer success side has the adoption plan, and I can ask him to walk you through it.
- Richard Thorne NoneI'd want that, yes. I won't commit to anything on this call.
- Owen Tallis NoneNobody's asking you to, Richard. What I'd like is the next dated step. Louise sends a redline – when?
- Louise Carver NoneLater this week. I'd rather not name a day, in case legal need longer. Say by the end of the week, and I'll tell you sooner if that moves.
- Owen Tallis NoneEnd of the week works. Then we turn it round in a couple of working days, and we're talking again at the start of next week.
- Priya Raman NoneWhich keeps us on track for the end of the month. Though I should say – your current term ends on 30 Jun 2026, and renewal would otherwise fall on 1 Jul 2026. I don't want you caught between two contracts.
- Louise Carver NoneNoted. That's something I need to understand properly. What happens if the new paper isn't signed by then?
- Owen Tallis NoneWe'd need to agree a short extension of the Growth terms so there's no gap in service. That's on us to draft, and I'd want it in writing from both sides. I don't want you without cover, and I don't want us supplying without paper.
- Louise Carver NoneThen please send that as a separate short document. I'd like it ready in case we need it, not after.
- Priya Raman NoneWill do. Four lines to come from me, then. The split of the total, the connector one-pager, a clean order form, and the short extension wording.
- Richard Thorne NoneFour. Fine. Is there anything else I need to know before this goes upstairs?
- Owen Tallis NoneOnly that I'd keep the discussion of price separate from the discussion of paper. Let's not discount twice. Whatever we land on is for the first term, and I'd rather be clear about that now than surprise you at the following renewal.
- Richard Thorne NoneI appreciate that. I don't like surprises.
- Louise Carver NoneOur standard position is that list price is only in exchange for something. I'll be looking at what Fenmoor gets for the figure, whether that's term, payment or something else. I'll set it out in the redline.
- Priya Raman NoneFair enough, and we'd welcome it. Thanks, Louise, thanks Richard. I think that's a good place to stop – you'll have my note this afternoon.
- Richard Thorne NoneThank you. Regards to you both.
- Owen Tallis NoneThanks, all. Speak next week.
- Louise Carver NoneGoodbye, everyone.
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