Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Enforcement specialist JBW have announced have acquired Phoenix Commercial. The agreement will create the UK’s second largest enforcement company. The deal follows an acquisition of the shares in Phoenix by JBW, with funding provided by OUTSOURCING Inc OUTSOURCING Inc. is a Japanese listed company with headquarters in Tokyo and has expanded its operations internationally in Asia,…
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Close Brothers has announced that it is selling its point-of-sale (POS) retail finance business to Swedish consumer lender Klarna, as it decides to focus on secured lending products, which include leasing and motor finance. The acquisition will significantly strengthen Klarna’s position in the UK market for retail financing and will enable accelerated growth and expansion of…
Read moreA report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that problem debt costing the economy £847 million a year. The report has found that £248m of that sum came from increased use of housing and health services Problem debt – defined as the inability to pay debts or household bills – affects an estimated…
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Enforcement specialist JBW Group has acquired shares in Court Enforcement Services (CESL) further growing the UK operations of multi-national of JBW’s parent company Outsourcing Inc. Court Enforcement Services will continue to be managed separately to JBW and will retain its brand and management team, led by Managing Director, Daren Simcox. Simcox said “Court Enforcement Services…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it has appointed Sheldon Mills as its new director of Competition. Mills is currently senior director, mergers and state aid at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). At the FCA, Mills will be a central figure in delivering one of the organisation’s operational objectives — to promote competition in…
Read moreMortgage servicer, Computershare Loan Services (CLS), has announced its intent to acquire American company, LenderLive Network, LLC, a leading fulfillment and secondary market service provider in the U.S. mortgage industry. Founded in 1999, LenderLive Network (LLN) has offices in the Denver, Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Florida, areas. This acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals,…
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Three Irish Credit Unions in South Dublin have announced that they will merge in a move that will create one of the top 10 community lenders by size. The merger of Capital, Francis Street and St Kevin’s has been ratified and means that the new combined entity will have 48,000 members. Capital has already taken over…
Read moreThe Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has referred Experian’s purchase of ClearScore for an in-depth merger investigation. The CMA found that Experian and ClearScore are the two largest credit checking firms and are each other’s, main competitors. In the CMA initial (phase 1) investigation identified concerns that the merged company would be less likely to innovate…
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Quick Loans has announced it has completed the purchase of the Cheque Centre, with the aim of relaunching the brand. Once the second biggest lender on the UK high street, the Cheque Centre, which had a turnover of over £270million and boasted 300 stores, went into administration in the summer of 2017 after the board decided…
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Encore Capital Group has announced that it has completed its acquisition of the remaining interest in Cabot Credit Management (Cabot) meaning that Cabot is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Encore earnings in 2018 and beyond, and Encore’s earnings per share growth are expected to accelerate to…
Read moreThe Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns that Experian’s purchase of ClearScore may reduce competition for people who want to check their credit score. ClearScore and Experian are the first and second-largest providers of free credit score checking in the UK. Experian is also the largest paid credit score checking provider. Millions of…
Read moreCredit reference agency, Callcredit has announced the change of its brand name to TransUnion, after being acquired by the leading global risk and information solutions provider in a £1 billion deal last month. As a phased integration process begins, UK businesses and consumers will start to become familiar with TransUnion, which already has a presence in…
Read moreHitachi Capital UK has announced it has acquired of Franchise Finance, a specialist financial services provider to the franchising industry. The transaction boosts Hitachi Capital UK’s lending base to SMEs and franchisees, bringing considerable senior consultancy experience to the Group and helping to build a profitable portfolio within an underserved market. The acquisition also enables…
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