Executive Summary
Provident Financial plc is a financial services group based in Bradford, UK. It specialises in Home Collected Credit (HCC), but also owns Vanquis Bank which offers credit cards. In the UK, Provident trades under a number of different brands, including Provident Personal Credit and Greenwood Personal Credit for its home credit operations, and Vanquis Bank for its credit card operation.
Company History
- The Group's history dates back to 1880 when Provident was founded to provide affordable credit to working class families in industrial West Yorkshire.
- Provident Financial obtained a London Stock Exchange listing in 1962.
- In 1997 the home credit model was transferred overseas, initially in Poland and the Czech Republic and then to additional countries as part of the strategy to develop new sources of growth outside the UK.
- In 2007, the company implemented a separate listing for the international business. It now trades independently as International Personal Finance.
- A further change in 2007 was the sale of the company's motor insurance business, Provident Insurance to Car Care Plan (Holdings) Limited (a subsidiary of GMAC Insurance Holdings Inc.).
Current Events
Business Model
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Market & Competition
Its market is among the 10 million people in the UK who have difficulty getting mainstream credit, and its biggest business is lending to people in their homes via a network of doorstep agents.
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Competitive Strengths and Weaknesses
Management
Financials
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Comparable Companies
SWOT Analysis
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Threats
In June 2004, the National Consumer Council referred a Super-Complaint regarding the Home Collected Credit industry to the Office of Fair Trading.[1]
