Lender plans to set up new holding company
Listed lender Morses Club is proposing a significant reorganisation of its business and corporate structure.
If approved, this will see it introduce a new, AIM-quoted, holding company for the Group, called U Money PLC.
Following the reorganisation, there will be two distinct business divisions, home collected credit (HCC) and digital.
These will operate through separate operating subsidiaries of U Money – HCC through Morses Club and Digital through Shelby Finance Ltd under the brands Dot Dot Loans for online lending and U Account for online e-money current accounts.
Morses Club says recent acceleration of its digital transformation, as a result of changes to market conditions and customer needs due to the pandemic, means it must change its structure to better facilitate development of its digital strategy.
It adds the reorganisation will create two clear, distinct business lines, Digital and HCC, to ensure there is no confusion with regards to branding.
And the business says the changes will ensure a broader span of appeal to a wider market of funders, investors and customers.
It says the restructure will have no direct impact on the Group’s customers, who will continue to be served by their existing business division.
Morses Club has also today released a trading update for the five-month period ending 31 July 2021, which reports that demand has steadily increased across all the company’s lending products.
Customer numbers in the Digital division for short-term and long-term lending products have increased by 80% since the beginning of the financial year and the customer base now stands at over 42,000.
In the HCC division, customer numbers are in line with expectations during the first five months of the year at 144,000.
Total credit issued for the period is 18% above management’s budgeted plan. Cash collections against target have remained consistent, being 5.4% ahead of budget and 12% ahead of the same period last year.
Paul Smith, chief executive officer of Morses Club, said: “Our expanded offering in the Digital division along with the continued strong performance in our HCC division is encouraging.
“Our recently announced proposed corporate restructure is all part of our long-term plans to grow and differentiate our products and services to meet customer demand.
“The Group’s significant experience in the sector and its commitment to providing best in class HCC and digital products will enable us to take advantage of changes in the market and further strengthen our position as a leading provider of non-standard financial services products in the UK.”
