Cattles to axe 500 jobs in costs drive

MORE than 500 jobs are at risk at troubled sub prime lender Cattles’ Welcome Financial Services arm after the group announced plans to close branches and reduce the number of sales and support teams.

Welcome Finance, the trading name of Welcome Financial Services, specialises in lending to people who have had credit problems in the past.

In a statement today, Cattles, said it proposed to close 30 Welcome branches where leases had expired or are due to expire and to reduce the number of Welcome’s sales and support teams.

The strategy forms part of its plans to reduce levels of lending and improve cash collection processes.

Staff affected by the proposals, which number around 510, were today set to be told they were at risk of being made redundant.

Margaret Young, Cattles’ chairman, said: “These proposed changes are central to Cattles achieving a more cost efficient business model which mirrors current levels of lending activity.

“Cattles is still in constructive discussions with its key financial creditors to obtain a standstill agreement.”

Welcome Finance has stopped applications for new personal or secured loans but is still lending to certain existing customers.

Cattles secured a deal to sell its Manchester-based Invoice Finance subsidiary for £70m to AnaCap Financial Partners last month.

The future of Cattles has been in the balance after an £850m black hole was found in its accounts.

The business, which had its shares suspended in April, owes its bondholders £850m and its syndicate of 22 banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland a further £500m.

Cattles said that the proceeds of the sale of the invoice finance arm will be used to help repay its bank borrowings.