Cattles, of course. The share price halved on Friday – to 6p – although this British sub-prime lender once traded above 400p in its heyday.
That latest news is that publication of its year-end figures has been delayed while the board work out whether Cattles’ provisioning for bad debts has been adequate – but in any case it has warned now that the figures, when the do emerge, will be worse than outsiders were expecting.
Bad numbers, as ever, take longer to add up than good ones.
Prior to Friday’s little wake-up call, there has always been something dreamy about the statements from this company.
Indeed, it has sought to present itself as some sort of social service – a sympathetic ear to the millions of Brits unable to access finance through the big hairy banks – nurses, bus drivers and other key-workers who find themselves failing the credit scoring tests set by mainstream lenders. (Catch: API umpteen percent.)
But as Cattles now assesses the ability of its own customers to repay their debts in such dire times, the inevitable focus we now be whether Cattles itself can meet its own commitments.
A £500m syndicated loan comes up for renewal in July…
Related links:
Cattles warns access to credit is at risk – FT