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Private equity owns four UK debt collectors

Source: The Guardian

Jul 04, 2009

Summary

Private equity giants own some of the UK's most aggressive debt collection agencies, an Observer investigation has revealed - a discovery that has prompted concern among politicians.

Four of the most significant operators in the UK debt recovery industry are private-equity-owned, with a fifth partly owned by a hedge fund and two banks including HBOS.

The biggest such firm is 1st Credit, which is owned by Bridgepoint, one of Europe's most powerful private equity firms. 1st Credit was hit with serious sanctions early this year from the Office of Fair Trading, which said the firm had caused unnecessary alarm to debtors and voiced concern over how it had dealt with those suffering mental health or medical problems.

The three other major debt collection agencies owned by private equity firms are Wescot Credit Services, owned by Alchemy Partners, the leveraged financial outfit managed by Jon Moulton; Cabot Financial, one of the most profitable firms in the sector, owned by Nikki Citigroup; and Lowell Group, which buys debt from banks that most firms will not touch, o

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