Harrington Brooks in double swoop
DEBT advisory company Harrington Brooks has made two acquisitions as it looks to grow.
The Sale, Greater Manchester-based consumer debt management specialist has bought the back books from FreshStart Financial Solution, based in Poynton, and Truro-based Fresh Start Home Loans.
FreshStart and Fresh Start Home Loans will continue to advise new clients on dealing with their debt concerns and then Harrington Brooks will supervise the plans to achieve the best results for customers and their creditors.
The company is not revealing the acquisition’s cost but the deal was funded by a combination of an equity injection from Inflexion LLP together with funding from the chairman Roger McDowell, chief executive Matthew Cheetham and finance director Terry Sweeney as well as senior debt from The Royal Bank of Scotland.
It will result in all 16 staff from the Poynton office moving to Harrington Brook’s headquarters in Sale.
While the back books from the Truro office will now be administered from Sale, the staff from that branch are understood to be leaving to run a new venture with their former boss.
Mr Cheetham said that he expects that the deal will also result in the need for an extra 10 staff to join the 160 staff who work at Harrington Brooks over the next year as it looks to grow.
The most recently filed accounts for Harrington Brooks show that the company made a loss of £1.71m in the year to March 10, 2009, compared with a loss of £1.69m the previous year.
Stockport-born Mr Cheetham, who previously ran the UK Specialist Holiday division of MyTravel, said: “Harrington Brooks has bought other back books and has a track record of successfully supervising thousands of debt management cases, with high levels of customer service.
“The back book deal and particularly the joint venture on ongoing business with FreshStart and Fresh Start Home Loans will enable us to consolidate our position as one of the leading customer debt management providers.
“The market remains strong for us at the moment but it is not the prevailing hurricane that many people believe it to be.
“The debtors are moderating their behaviour and the creditors are cutting up their credit cards.
“But we seek to offer our clients an unrivalled financial service and only offer advice after reviewing all their financial circumstances.”
Howard Gillibrand, a relationship director for corporate banking at RBS, said: “This recent acquisition marks a step change in the size of Harrington Brooks and its presence in the marketplace.
“We’ve worked with the company for many years now and have supported them through previous back book purchases.
“We look forward to working with Harrington Brooks while Matthew and the rest of the management team continue to drive the business forward.”
