Lender on the brink as administrators lined up

Morses Club, the stricken sub-prime lender based in Nottingham, is looking at an increasingly uncertain future, TheBusinessDesk.com understands.

The firm, which has spent much of the last 18 months fighting for its future, has posted a notice of intention to appoint administrators – a move which will protect it from creditor action for around two weeks.

The move comes after Morses Club approached its creditors earlier this year to ask them to back a Scheme of Arrangement that it said would help it fund a plan that it hoped would mean it could continue to trade. This was approved in June.

Last year, Morses Club issued repeated warnings that it could enter insolvency unless it brings forward a Scheme of Arrangement after it suspended processing claims made against its “unaffordable” loans.

However, in March, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was less them impressed with the Scheme. It submitted a letter to the firm and the court ahead of the hearing, as it had “a number of concerns” with the firm’s proposals.

Earlier, in February, Morses Club’s shareholders voted to take the company private. The company said de-listing from the London Stock Exchange in a bid to cut costs.

Morses Club has also posted a notice of intention to appointment administrators at its subsidiary Shelby Finance, which trades at Dot Dot Loans.