Portfolio management business Close Credit Management (CCM) has been sold to Australian capital and asset management services company Bluestone Group for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition will result in Bluestone, which has assets of £750m, doubling the number of accounts under management. CCM currently manages over 170,000 customer accounts, generating revenues of £6.1m and net earnings of £948,000. The business will increase Bluestones European headcount by approximately 165 and it will continue to operate from its Sheffield offices.
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Bluestones executive chairman and acting CEO of CCM Alistair Jeffery said: CCM has a unique position in the UK consumer finance market, with particular strengths in managing auto, equipment and commercial receivables. The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity to expand our footprint in the UK, and combine Bluestones technical and capital management skills with CCMs strong management team and operations.
As Jeffery indicated, CCMs current management team will remain in place, though CEO Nick Shepherd was unable to agree transition terms with Close Brothers and has decided to move on.
CCM, which will be 40 years old next month, will be rebranded as Bluestone Credit Management by the end of the year, and will focus on increasing its assets under management, broadening the range of services offered to the UK market, as well as looking for strategic opportunities to expand within the industry.
Bluestone is owned by private and institutional shareholders including Macquarie Bank and Lloyds International. It was established in 2000 as a residential mortgage lender, subsequently expanding into commercial lending and equity release products, loan servicing and asset management.
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By GlobalDataThe company operates in Australia and New Zealand where it has provided over £3bn of loans to more than 20,000 customers, and where it currently manages a portfolio of approximately £750m.
Bluestone has had its eye on the European credit market for some time, opening a Cambridge office in 2009 and a Spanish office in Barcelona earlier this year. Last December, it raised A$10m (£6.5m) of new equity from Macquarie Bank, as well as refinancing £20m of corporate debt until 2014.
Jill Cox, CCM head of client services said: A number of investors showed strong interest in the business through the sale process and we, together with our previous parent Close Brothers Group, determined that Bluestone is the right choice to help us realise our potential.
