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RNS Number : 3521R
Morses Club PLC
28 February 2019
28 February 2019
Morses Club PLC
Trading update and notice of preliminary results
Morses Club PLC ("the Company"), the UK's second largest home
collected credit lender, provides the following trading update for
the 52-week period to 23 February 2019.
Trading performance for the period has been strong and is in
line with the Board's expectations. Total credit issued increased
2.4% to GBP178.5m compared with the prior year (FY 2018: GBP174.4m)
and the Company's gross loan book has grown by over 7% compared
with 24 February 2018 (5% increase in the core book and 2% as a
result of the acquisitions of the Eccles Savings & Loans
Limited and Hays Credit LLP assets).
Total customer numbers increased by 2.6% to 235,000 as at 23
February 2019 (FY 2018: 229,000).
The positive momentum surrounding the growth of the Morses Club
Card continues. Our first cashless lending product now has 30,000
customers with GBP15.5m of loan balances on cards (FY 2018: 21,000
customers and GBP10.6m of loan balances).
On 26 February 2019, Morses Club announced the acquisition of
the business and certain assets of CURO Transatlantic limited
("CURO TA"), an online lending business. This acquisition
represents a major milestone in the Company's product
diversification strategy, as we develop digital products to meet
the changing needs of our customers and broaden our customer base.
The acquisition of CURO TA complements those made in our core HCC
market, as we continue on our path of sustainable growth.
Paul Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Morses Club, said:
"We are delighted by the strong performance we have delivered
this year, achieving consistent growth both organically and through
acquisitions. The significant consolidation we are seeing across
the HCC sector is continuing and the fragmented marketplace has
enabled us to make high quality acquisitions, expanding our
regional presence.
"The quality of our service and products, which are designed
around the needs of our customers, remains paramount as we develop
our digital platform and increase our online offering in line with
our product diversification strategy. We are particularly excited
about the acquisition of the CURO TA assets and the contribution
they will make to our digital offering.
"We are confident in our outlook for the coming year, which we
expect to be reflected in an increased FY2019 dividend payment for
shareholders. We continue to pursue opportunities for growth in
both our core HCC market and across the wider non-standard finance
sector."
Notice of Preliminary Results
Morses Club will be announcing its preliminary results for the
52-week period ended 23 February 2019 on 2 May 2019. There will be
an analyst presentation to discuss the results at 9:30am at Panmure
Gordon, 1 New Change, London, EC4M 9AF. Those analysts wishing to
attend are asked to contact Jake Thomas at Camarco on +44 (0)20
3781 8337 or at jake.thomas@camarco.co.uk.
This announcement constitutes inside information for the
purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No
596/2014.
For further information
Morses Club PLC Tel: +44 (0) 330
Paul Smith, Chief Executive Officer 045 0719
Andy Thomson, Chief Financial Officer
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Nomad and Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886
Joint Broker) 2500
Richard Gray / Fabien Holler / Atholl
Tweedie (Corporate Finance)
Charles Leigh-Pemberton (Corporate Broking)
finnCap Tel: +44 (0) 20 7220
Jonny Franklin-Adams / Emily Watts / 0500
Anthony Adams (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Richard Chambers (Corporate
Broking)
Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 20 3757
Ed Gascoigne-Pees / Jennifer Renwick 4984
/ Kimberley Taylor
Notes to Editors
About Morses Club
Morses Club is the second largest UK Home Collected Credit (HCC)
lender with 230,000 customers and 1,900 agents across 94 locations
throughout the UK.
The Company offers a range of loan products to its customers
through its extensive self-employed agent network. The majority of
the Company's borrowers are repeat customers and the Company enjoys
consistently high customer satisfaction with scores of 95% or
above(1) .
The Company is using technology to broaden its offering and
provide new products to ensure customers can access credit with the
flexibility they require. In April 2016, its cashless lending
product, the Morses Club Card, was introduced, enabling its
customers to buy online as well as on the high street. Dot Dot
Loans, the Company's first online instalment product, was launched
in March 2017.
Morses Club successfully listed on AIM in May 2016.
About the UK non-standard credit market
The UK non-standard credit market, of which UK HCC is a subset,
consists of both secured and unsecured lending and is estimated to
comprise around 10 million consumers(2) .
Non-standard credit is the provision of secured and unsecured
credit to consumers other than through mainstream lenders. Lenders
providing non-standard credit principally lend on an unsecured
basis and the market is characterised by high frequency
borrowing.
Since February 2014, unsecured personal lending has grown from
GBP161 billion to GBP209 billion in February 2018(3) .
(1 Independent Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by Mustard
2 FCA High Cost Credit Review Technical Annex 1: CRA data analysis
of UK personal debt - July 2017 3 Source: Table J Bank of England
Money & Credit Report February 2018)
About UK Home Collected Credit
UK HCC is considered to be a specialised segment of the broader
UK non-standard credit market. UK HCC loans are typically small,
unsecured cash loans delivered directly to customers' homes.
Repayments are collected in person during weekly follow-up visits
to customers' homes.
UK HCC is considered to be stable and well-established, with
approximately 1.6 million(2) people using the services of UK HCC
lenders.
(2 High Cost Credit Review ANNEX 1 - July 2017)
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END
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