Regulator warning after Debt Help & Advice closure

STOCKPORT debt management firm Debt Help & Advice has closed down after trading for just six months.

The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the sector, has warned people who have debt plans with the company to stop making payments.

It said between 3,000-3,500 clients had a plan with Debt Help & Advice and affiliated businesses Primary Business Solutions and First Step Finance.

It is not year clear if the business is going through a formal insolvency procedure, such as administration.

Debt Help was set up in October by Darren Newton who acquired First Step Finance’s client base from Christine Whitehurst after the previous regulator, the Office of Fair Trading, revoked its consumer credit licence over “serious concerns about the transparency and integrity of its practices”.

Mr Newton was a former financial controller at First Step and was joined by another member of the management, Adrian Crymble. They also hired David Ellwood from Kendal-based compliance firm HiCas Consultancy and previously of Cumbria Trading Standards.