Welcome Finance is Finished

[LuggerBugs]

I imagine we'll have a fair few Welcome (ex) employees looking for advice soon. Cattles EGM was this morning. Here's what Credit Today have to say about it.

Credit Today online

News

Cattles to collect out Welcome - 16/12/2009

Troubled lender Cattles is to focus on collecting out existing loans from its main business Welcome Financial Services after a business plan for Welcome's future failed to satisfy creditors.

The lender confirmed this morning that the board was unable to recommend a business plan to its creditors which would allow Welcome to lend to existing or new customers.

The board has now recommended a plan which will focus on collecting Welcome’s book of customer loans. It is envisaged that this collection of the Welcome loan book could take two to three years and, during this period, the group’s cost base will contract to reflect the reducing size of the book.

A statement from Cattles said the group’s smaller businesses, home credit provider Shopacheck and debt collection agency The Lewis Group, will continue to trade as normal.

The statement added that the board is still "exploring the scope to develop these businesses further."

The news comes against a backdrop of huge losses for the Cattles group; last month it revealed a £555m loss for the year ending December 31 2008.

At a general meeting called today to consider the company's serious loss of capital and the actions taken by the board, the executive chairman of Cattles Margaret Young issued the statement.

She explained that the board of Cattles announced on 25 November that it had agreed a Standstill and Equalisation Agreement (SEA) with its key financial creditors, and that this should improve the likelihood of Cattles achieving its restructuring objectives.

Since the SEA announcement, Cattles met financial creditors to update them on its recent financial performance and to review with them a range of strategic options.

These meetings followed strategic, operational and financial analysis of the group’s businesses.

[LuggerBugs]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

RNS Number : 2649E Cattles PLC 16 December 2009
Cattles plc 16 December 2009
CATTLES plc
General Meeting to consider serious loss of capital
Cattles plc (the 'Company') announces that the General Meeting convened to consider its serious loss of capital pursuant to section 656 of the Companies Act 2006 was held at 12 noon today at Congress Centre, 28 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LS.
The Directors updated shareholders as to the Company's position and explained the action the Board was taking to address the current circumstances of the Company, including the recently announced standstill agreed with financial creditors. The Board also responded to shareholders' questions.
At the meeting, a resolution was proposed by a shareholder, and passed on a show of hands by shareholders representing circa one per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. This was a resolution for the Company to request the financial creditors to sanction an amount of up to £500,000 to fund a petition by shareholders for the winding up of the Company.
The Directors do not believe that a winding up of the Company would be in the interests of any of the Company's stakeholders. It would be inconsistent with the Directors' duties to preserve value for creditors and contrary to the objective of achieving a consensual restructuring. Furthermore, having taken advice, it is the Directors' view that such a petition would be highly unlikely to succeed.
However, as required by the shareholders present and voting at the General Meeting, the Directors will convey this proposal to the financial creditors.
Margaret Young, Executive Chairman, said: "The Board of Cattles and I very much regret that today's update confirms the significant loss suffered by our shareholders. However, in our current financial situation, our duty now has to be to preserve value for creditors. We do not believe that the pursuit of any such petition to wind up the Company would be in the interests of any of our stakeholders."
For further information:

Margaret Young, Chairman, Cattles plc 020 7269 7252

Geoffrey Pelham-Lane/Paul Marriott, Financial Dynamics <HR>---------------------------------------
This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

[LuggerBugs]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

And from the Telegraph.

Attempted coup causes Cattles chaos - Telegraph

Attempted coup causes Cattles chaos
Investors in Cattles demanded the liquidation of the embattled sub-prime lender and the resignation of its board at a highly fraught general meeting.


By Louise Armitstead
Published: 8:56PM GMT 16 Dec 2009

The chaotic gathering, originally convened to discuss the financial future of the company, had to be adjourned twice while the board took legal advice on how to respond to shareholders.

During the second adjournment, Margaret Young, executive chairman, called Cattles’ lead lending banks to inform them of the investor demands.

The banks separately convened an emergency meeting of key creditors in a race to respond before news of the coup reached employees but were not in a position to comment before the end of the day.

Ms Young fought to keep control of the meeting which followed the announcement of a restructuring and a warning that Cattles’ shares are “likely to have little or no value”.

The announcement, which many small investors had not seen because they were travelling to London for the meeting, said Cattles was putting Welcome Finance, its troubled lending arm, into run-off.

One shareholder, who said he had lost £80,000 investing in Cattles mostly at the

rights issue in April 2008, lambasted the board for “total mismanagement” over 18 months. “When you want money there are pages of information; when there’s a mea culpa there’s none,” he said. “The owners of this company are treated like monkeys.”

Several shareholders called for the resignation “before the end of the year” of several board members, including the chairman, for “just being there” while an alleged accounting fraud was conducted by executive directors over several years.

The company, former directors and a raft of external advisers are being investigated by regulators.

One investor said: “Can someone tell me what the hell are we doing here? The company is being run for the sake of the banks and the bondholders, not us.”

In a second statement to the Stock Exchange last night, Ms Young said: “The board of Cattles and I very much regret that today’s update confirms the significant loss suffered by our shareholders. However, in our current financial situation, our duty now has to be to preserve value for creditors. We do not believe that the pursuit of any such petition to wind up the company would be in the interests of any of our stakeholders.”

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

So... Where does that leave us with successful ppi claims?
Had a form wich we have to sign and send to them by the 26th , :christmas3:

[LuggerBugs]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Well, if the only think holding you back is the fact that the form needs to be signed and returned, I can't see why you shouldn't. Although I have no idea whether there will be any money in the pot to pay out on PPI claims.

Let's just examine that scenario for a moment. They have set a rough timescale for collecting in on existing loans. You have to assume then that any loans due to mature after that point will be subject to either being left until they sell off their books, offered a substantial quick resettlement, or will be left for the dogs to fight over once the administrators are called in.

There is no way 3 years worth of debt is going to make much of an impact on what they owe. Therefore the banks themselves have probably told them that they are prepared to wait that long for them to claw back as much as they possibly can

The costs involved ion administering their Shopacheck brand very likely means that, even if that part of the business were prfitable, it would not be nearly enough to help out overall.

Expect to see their debt collection arm the Lewis Group becoming very active over the comiong months. It'll be PAY UP OR ELSE, soon followed by WE'RE TAKING YOU TO COURT. And not long after that, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE CAN WE HAVE SOMETHING? ANYTHING? IN FULL AND FINAL?

Any sniff of a dispute will see you drop to the bottom of the collection pile. Where there is the slightest risk of them actually having to pay anything out at all, they will just stick their fingers in their ears and go LA, LA, LA.

Bear in mind that as their cost base shrinks, there will be less and less local centres left open. Shutting Nottingham down completely also and Cattles doing all the collecting via the Lewis Group is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't be signing anything. Well, I HAVE refused. And my credit record is suffering as a result, but what the heck. But equally, I'm not paying them another penny until I see a cheque from them clear through the bank first. And it will need to be a very substantial cheque at that.

So, to answer your question: I have no idea if you'll see any refund at all. I'm certainly not hopeful, even though I had a call from the FOS today to say they are going to be chasing them up. I'm not holding my breath.

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Had a call from FOS and he advises returnng the form. However as we are still unhappy we just printed our initials!! In the post today.
But like your self not holding my breath!!:candycane:

[LuggerBugs]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Yup, the FOS accept that the way Welcome work their refunds is acceptable. So unless you sign and return, you don't get the backing of the FOS.

Keep us posted as and when/if you get your refund.

[thephoenix]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

This all sound very interesting and I will be keeping an eye on things as they develop.
Any idea how the land lies with those agreements consumers feel are unenforceable (when I mean consumers, I do mean those who have sought legal/other advice on their unenforceable) but have yet to formally start any legal action????

As an example WELCOME FINANCE POSTS

I have been able to get a review of this case from a top QC in writing.

[LuggerBugs]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Until such time as cattles/Welcome ceases trading, I would say it's business as usual, claim wise.

Whether there will be any money in the coffers to pay out sundries such as PPI, unlawful charges etc, is another matter.

Still, there is always the option to petition for a winding up order. :HOXmasFelf007:

[Ruby]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

I have a third charge on my property with Welcome taken two years ago. I'm now worried that they may try a repossession order since I have arrears with them. I do try to pay the full amount a month plus maybe £5 - £10 extra, but it is a struggle.

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Yup, the FOS accept that the way Welcome work their refunds is acceptable. So unless you sign and return, you don't get the backing of the FOS.

Keep us posted as and when/if you get your refund.

Will do !
have a ood time everyone:cancan:

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

Yup, the FOS accept that the way Welcome work their refunds is acceptable. So unless you sign and return, you don't get the backing of the FOS.

Keep us posted as and when/if you get your refund.

Ok they are still insisting we give them our bank details (not paid them for a while)
Got a standard letter asking for the bank details in order for them to "varyify" the one on our "application" for our "new" loan??
Not sure what they are playing at we were led to belive that by returning the form they would them reclulate without ppi but would not givr us aany idiea what this would be the form was unsigned and undated.
We did ask EOS who said return it but we did not actualy sign it only put printed initials

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW GIVE THE TRACK RECORD AND BITTER EXPERIIANCE i WOULD NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL

[Amethyst]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

If they are giving you a new agreement and new loan to account for the recalculations then surely the new/proposed figures should be on said agreement ?

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

NO! its just like the organal one and says we "owe £!7,500

[dogtired]

Re: Welcome Finance is Finished

NO! its just like the organal one and says we "owe £!7,500

And it appears that payments of over that amount are not included No signiture or dates from them and no copies.
awaiting develpments