Revelling in the misfortune of others is unseemly, but bosses at Non-Standard Finance (NSF) will be hard-pressed to avoid a private smile or two this weekend.
The doorstep lender is reaping the rewards of the travails of its much larger rival, Provident Financial.
Last week, the Provvy’s share price collapsed by 66% when it ditched its dividend after announcing problems with collecting its loans and a regulatory investigation into its Vanquis Bank division.
John van Kuffeler, the chairman of NSF, has wasted little time capitalising. As the former chief executive and chairman of Provident, he had poached 353 Provvy debt collectors by end of July and has set his sights on hundreds more. In the coming months, NSF, the third-ranked home credit lender, will ramp