iQor sold in £42m deal
PRESTON-based debt collection firm iQor has been bought by Capita in a £42m deal.
Parent company, New York-based iQor Holdings, said it had sold the business to focus on its North American operations where it runs call centres and other outsourced operations.
iQor UK employs 450 people in Preston.
Capita said it paid £40.5m in cash and took on a pension deficit of £1.5m. In the year to December 2012 iQor made a profit of £6.5m on sales of £21.8m.
Paul Pindar, chief executive of Capita, said: “The acquisition of iQor UK will enhance both the collections part of our customer
management business and our wider debt management capability, providing us with in house ‘late stage’ debt recovery expertise alongside our existing early and final stage businesses.
“iQor UK provides services to around 20 public and private sector organisations including well known high street brands, as well
as Capita itself, to which it provides support on the BBC TV licensing contract.”
Norm Merritt, president and chief executive of iQor Holdings, said: “Our plan to sell our UK debt collections subsidiary demonstrates our commitment to concentrate our strategic focus and investments in our growing North American business and
expanding our analytics capabilities and global footprint in high-demand nearshore and offshore locations.
“While we are very proud of the accomplishments and contributions of our team in the UK, we feel it is in the best interests of our employees and UK clients to be part of a strong, UK-based parent like Capita.”
