Debt collection firm bought by £85m turnover judicial services group
A DARWEN-based company which specialises in non-court order based field collections has been acquired by Marston Holdings, the UK’s largest judicial services group, for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1999, Engage has field agents operating across the UK and provides field-based collections to utility companies, financial services and public sector clients.
The company’s management team, Michael Wolfenden and Gary Jones, will remain on the board and continue to run the business, which has 70 employees and a network of over 800 active field agents.
Birmingham-based Marston is the UK’s largest judicial services group, with a turnover of £85m, 2,000 employees and agents processing around 1.4 million cases each year.
It acts on behalf of taxpayers to recover outstanding criminal fines, legal aid contributions, child support arrears, council tax and parking penalties. It also recovers unpaid Employment Tribunal Awards due to employees and unpaid invoices for small businesses.
The deal is Marston’s sixth acquisition since the purchase of Helmshore-based Rossendales in 2013.It gives Marston an additional specialist offering in non -court order based field collections, an area where the group had not previously had a strong presence.
Gareth Hughes, Marston chief executive, said: “Engage is strongly positioned in the field services market segment. It has an excellent track record of engaging with customers in an effective, sensitive manner, and has made significant investment in technology. We are delighted that they have joined us.”
Andrew Feeke of CLB Coopers and law firm Needle Partners advised Engage while Dow Schofield Watts advised Marston.
