Remote lending and collection methods accelerate at credit provider

Listed Birstall-based lender, Morses Club, says it is making good progress in accelerating its strategy of serving its customers via remote methods of lending and collection.

The business notes customer responses to the launch of its remote lending remain positive.

Subscribers to Morses Club’s online customer portal, which enables remote lending and collection, continue to increase month on month, with over 112,000 customers registered compared with about 78,000 at the end of FY20.

In August the Group restarted face-to-face lending and collection activity in customer homes, in strict accordance with Government safety guidelines.

The company has continued to reduce its borrowings with its debt position at the end of August 2020 of £14m, comparing favourably to both August 2019 (£23m) and February 2020 (£34m).

As at the end of August, Morses Club had headroom of over £9m, which it says is more than sufficient to meet its peak lending period in December 2020.

In its latest trading update, the firm adds: “The impact of Covid-19 on the overall business has impacted the trajectory of Morses Club’s Digital business to profitability.

“Whilst performance compared to last year is very positive, the trajectory of cash and sales has been impacted by the fall in customer demand, as Morses Club’s focus on the quality of its lending has led to much lower volumes of sales than our pre-Covid forecast anticipated.

“The Group has continued to implement structural changes to the business, with employees continuing to work from home until the end of the year. Further restructuring of the Group’s property portfolio is progressing as a result.”

Paul Smith, CEO of Morses Club, said: “In response to the current challenging trading conditions, we are accelerating all aspects of the digitalisation of our business, not just as a response to the ongoing impact of Covid-19, but to create a new model for our business to the benefit of our customers, employees and agents. 

“We are encouraged by our customers’ response to our remote lending product and we have seen improvements in lending and collections in our HCC division since the launch of remote lending, initially to existing customers, in April 2020. 

“Shelby Finance continues to make good progress, with its broader product offering attracting a more diverse customer base and is set to drive growth in the medium term.”

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