Credit checking firm looks set for buyout

Leeds-based Callcredit may be about to change hands for up to £1bn.

According to weekend media, the US owners have been talking to corporate financiers from Credit Suisse and Jefferies about finding a buyer for the business.

Callcredit was set up in 2000 by the Skipton Building Society and has grown fast. It is understood that the firm could be sold for between £800m and £1bn.

The potential sale comes three years after GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, bought Callcredit for £480million from Vitruvian Partners, a British investment group.

Its clients include banks, insurers and payday lenders, all keen to check how creditworthy their customers are.