Morses Club buys Hays Credit

Home collected credit lender Morses Club has announced the acquisition of rival Hays Credit for an undisclosed sum.

Family-run Hays has been operating since 1957, providing loans to approximately 2,700 customers across the North East of England. It has outstanding balances of approximately £1.6m, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the Consumer Credit Association.

AIM-listed Morses said the deal further expands its core home collected credit business in the North East of England, complementing the recently-announced acquisition of Eccles Savings & Loans, the North West based home collected credit business with 3,000 customers.

Chief executive officer Paul Smith said: "I am delighted to announce this acquisition and welcome Hays' customers to Morses Club. Hays is a high-quality business and further expands our offering for clients in the North East.

"Home collected credit is the fundamental core of our business and our recent acquisitions demonstrate our commitment to both continuing to grow our home collected credit capabilities, as well as diversifying our broader online product offering."

At 1015 GMT, the shares were up 1.8% to 154p.