Morses Club acquires online loans provider CURO
Morses Club
0.21p
16:50 10/02/23
Credit lender Morses Club has acquired online loans provider CURO Transatlantic in order to expand its digital offerings in response to growing demand.
FTSE AIM All-Share
753.12
16:50 25/04/24
Morses snapped up CURO, trading as WageDayAdvance, out of administration through its fully owned subsidiary Shelby Finance for approximately £8.5m in cash, 50% on completion and the balance over five months.
The AIM-listed outfit, which will be watching the takeover tussle between home collected credit rivals Non-Standard Finance and Provident Financial with interest, said the acquisition fitted well with its strategic priority of increasing its online offerings in response to growing demand as it adds a "sizeable customer base" of around 50,000.
While Morses does not expect CURO to add to earnings in the first year following the acquisition, its board were confident that it would make a "positive contribution" to earnings in 2021.
Chief executive Paul Smith said: "This exciting acquisition of such a well-established online lending business represents a significant escalation for Morses Club's product diversification strategy.
"This acquisition, alongside those recently announced in our core HCC market, reinforces our plans to build a digital platform to meet the evolving needs of our customers across the UK, whether online or in the customer's home."
As of 0915 GMT, Morses shares were up a penny at 160p.