Cabot Credit Management Acquisition of Wescot

Cabot Credit Management (Cabot), one of the largest credit management services providers in Europe and the market leader in the UK and Ireland, has entered into an agreement to acquire FCA-authorised Wescot, a leading UK contingency debt collection and business process outsourcing (BPO) services business.

This is Cabot’s second strategic acquisition this year in the UK following the investment in Orbit Services (Orbit), a specialist in the public utilities debt servicing market. In total Cabot has invested in excess of £100m in the acquisitions of both Wescot and Orbit which have added in excess of £200m per annum in contingency collections plus significant BPO collections to the group.

Headquartered in Hull, Wescot is the largest debt services provider for the UK retail banking sector and is consistently in the top ranks of debt collection agency (DCA) panels of a large range of financial services and corporate clients in utility, telecoms and retail finance.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close within three months.

Ken Stannard, CEO, Cabot Credit Management, said:

“We are delighted to partner with Wescot who shares our ethical values and commitment to high customer service standards. This acquisition will allow us to further diversify our product range, reach a wider client base and better meet our clients’ evolving needs. It will create an enlarged group with an improved quality of earnings as we look to take the business to the next level.”

Paul Jenkins, CEO, Wescot, said:

“Now is a good time for us to be joining forces with Cabot. Since FCA approval, Wescot has received unprecedented demand for its high quality outsourcing solutions. This deal will allow us to strengthen and deepen relationships with financial services clients, offering them best in class products across their needs.”

For further information, please contact:

Becky Cimelli, PR Manager, Cabot Credit Management

Tel: +44 (0) 7780 495082 Email: [email protected]

Notes to editors
1. Cabot Credit Management (www.cabotcm.com)

Cabot is one of the largest credit management services providers in Europe and the market leader in the UK and Ireland (based on 120month estimated remaining collections as of 31 December 2016). Cabot provides a range of credit management services across a broad client base that includes some of the largest credit providers in Europe. These services include debt servicing offerings such as early stage collections, business process outsourcing, contingent collections, trace services and litigation activities Cabot has credit management experience across a range of both credit providers (including consumer finance, telecommunications companies, retailers, utilities companies and government agencies) and asset classes (including secured consumer debt, small and mediumsized enterprise debt, and highvalue accounts).

Between Cabot’s inception in 1998 to 30 June 2017, it has invested a combined total of £2.1 billion in the acquisition of over £21 billion in face value of purchased loan portfolios and has received £2.9 billion in cumulative collections from purchased loan portfolios. As at 30 June 2017, Cabot’s 120month estimated remaining collections was £2.2 billion, and Cabot’s 180-month estimated remaining collections was £2.5 billion.

With 20 years of debt purchase and debt servicing experience, Cabot was one of the first companies to engage in the credit management services market in the United Kingdom. In March 2016, Cabot became the first large credit management service company in the United Kingdom to be authorised by the FCA, and in May 2017 Cabot became the first credit management service company in Ireland to be authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Customer service and regulatory compliance are at the core of Cabot’s business and culture and are implemented through its collections strategy. Cabot seeks to treat its customers fairly and offer affordable payment solutions, often through longterm payment plans. Cabot has customer satisfaction scores in excess of all UK banking and building society benchmarks and many leading high street banks, and Cabot believes that it has one of the lowest rates of complaints in the debt collection industry referred to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service. Cabot has won numerous industry accolades, including a 2017 UK Customer Satisfaction Award from the Institute of Customer Service, the CCR Credit Excellence Awards 2016 for Compliance and the Credit Today Award 2016 for Treating Customers Fairly.

2. Wescot (www.wescot.co.uk) is a UK-based debt collection agency, working on behalf of banking, utility, telecoms and retail finance companies whose customers have fallen behind with their repayments. These companies pass accounts to Wescot to manage and we work with each individual customer to establish

affordable and sustainable repayment arrangements for the debt. The company is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the Credit Services Association. Headquartered in Hull, it employs around 800 people and has sites in Glasgow and Saltcoats.