Cabot loses £6m as crunch bites collections - My heart bleeds...

[fermi]

Credit Today online

 

Anyone want to put together a "collection"?

 

Cabot loses £6m as crunch bites collections - 09/09/2009

 

Debt buyer Cabot Financial lost £6.7m in 2007-08 from a profit of £9.6m the previous year, saying lower consumer collection levels stemming from the credit crunch forced it to cut the value of assets.

 

However, chief executive Ken Maynard told Credit Today the company is well funded and in a good position to take advantage of portfolios now coming to the market for sale.

 

The group made an operating profit of £10.8m, down from £25.4m in 2006-07 and its net cash outflow from operating activities was £582,300 - reduced from £4.4m. The figures take its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to £14.8m from £29.1m in 2007.

 

In its annual report, Cabot, which acquired portfolios in Spain, Ireland and France as well as the UK, said collections on portfolios for the year to 31 October 2008 fell short of expectations on assets owned at the start of the year. However, it said returns were ahead of expectations on assets bought after that time.

 

Maynard said the model the company uses to forecast collections on its portfolios is "aggressive" and a period of lower cash collections dramatically affects the value attributed to assets. "The assets have not gone away, we still have them. They are just generating slightly less cash than expected. The value will go back up and we will get a much-needed boost [to the figures] in the next year or two," he said.

 

He added that investors are happy with the performance as cash flow has not dropped dramatically (falling by £1.7m) and default levels for consumer collection arrangements have not deteriorated. Existing funders Citigroup and Barclays Capital have renewed funding and RBS has joined the consortium. Maynard said the funding line agreed is "substantially more" than the £125m suggested in the report.

 

The report added: "The directors expect both the turnover and operating profits of the group to grow in the coming years fuelled by cash flows from portfolios currently owned plus the weakening of the price of debt in the UK marketplace."

 

Cabot last year suffered a setback in plans to expand as Citigroup, which owns its backer Nikko, decided not to make further investments in light of the credit crunch. This halted previous plans to expand rapidly across Europe. At the end of the financial year Cabot had been due to buy 100 per cent of Spanish debt collection agency Gescobro. However, Citi’s decision meant it was forced to sell back its existing 20 per cent stake for £720,052 under the terms of the deal.

 

Maynard said the last 18 months have been spent assessing existing assets and "tidying up the business". He added that investment restrictions are starting to lift. "We are positive about the next 18 months. There’s going to be quite a few big portfolios coming up and we should be in a very strong position to buy a lot."

 

He added that unemployment is a key factor in collections and the speed of recovery will depend on whether or not there is a "double dip" in the economy of if recovery continues.

[bsj]

Oh dear i added to their problems with a statute barred debt,i feel all guilty now:rolleyes:

[fermi]

Oh dear i added to their problems with a statute barred debt,i feel all guilty now:rolleyes:

 

Don't feel tooooo guilty.

 

If the debt was SB, they probably only paid pennies for it in the first place.

[twofoot]

Shame there wasn't one or two zeros on the end of that figure then it would be cabot no more

[fermi]

Maybe they should have held on to all those CCA £1 postal orders that they returned saying that they "don't accept them"?

[debt4get]

Maybe they should have held on to all those CCA £1 postal orders that they returned saying that they "don't accept them"?

yes maybe that would have helped their cashflow problems...oh dear...what a shame.....

[sillygirl1]

Another one soon to find out they are not as 'active' as they were - due hopefully to this site and the information available for free on it.

 

Just had yet another call from a company wanting to help me consolidate my debts and wipe them out - I asked 'What debts would these be...' and the line went dead!

[bsj]

Don't feel tooooo guilty.

 

If the debt was SB, they probably only paid pennies for it in the first place.

 

 

Guilt lasted all of a nano second:D

[simples33]

If it wasnt for those pesky debtors knowing their rights too much.....

[minmac]

Now I feel bad. I dont want any DCAs to go under. Who will I do my impersonations of Whitney/Celine/Mariah to down the phone???

[fermi]

Guilt lasted all of a nano second:D

 

Still waaaaaaaaay too long....

[ashmk]

No guilt, no bad feelings, couldnt give a s**t if the building colapsed on top of them. Cabot deserve everything they get for the lies and tricks they pull to make peoples lives a misery.

[debt4get]

No guilt, no bad feelings, couldnt give a s**t if the building colapsed on top of them. Cabot deserve everything they get for the lies and tricks they pull to make peoples lives a misery.

AMEN

[F_DCAs]

Oh dear! Another one on the way out. I'm so tragically sorry for the cutbacks Crapbot will have to make (ha ha ha!).

 

Might be time to reconsider that new swimming pool, Mr Maynard...

[Drexl Spivey]

Maynard said the model the company uses to forecast collections on its portfolios is "aggressive"

 

More like supremely optimistic , more like totally unrealistic and the model of a failed equation based on the now defunct assumption that people are unaware of their rights to decide not to pay sums towards these 'collections'.

[andrew1]

10th Setpember 2009 (well almost)

 

Ken Maynard - chief Exec of Our old mates Cabot

 

£6 million Loss?

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEN MAYNARD !!!

FROM CAG and the CABOT FAN CLUB

 

 

Yeeehhaaa!! :D

 

and there's our Heather on page 49 of CT telling us all about what naughty people those identified by the OFT are for being 'won't pays' and their evasion tactics -

[ATTACH]12354[/ATTACH]...think you might have just forgotten to mention Heather a little bit of activity which has been going on for 3 years or so.... a Consumer Revolt !! also telling the OFT what complete asses these idiots are in the DCA's you keep awarding prizes to for going about their business TOTALLY AGAINST THE LAW - or has that just been a slight of pen?

 

Come on Heather - admit you love the Cabot Fan Club - CAG and all the energy it has provided all these people with to begin COMPLAINING about things which the DCA's have gotten away with for getting on 40 years...give us just a jot of credit ( excuse the pun ) this is not just about 'won't pays' you should read a few threads on here to know that.....?

 

Why can't you admit it and Print it? - They've been sussed and here's poor old Ken Maynards birthday pressi - a £6 million loss - that means his new swimming pool won't be serviced this year and poor old Glen Crawford having to sell an Aston or two.. it really makes our hearts bleed Oh, and you might have to make old Frank Spencer, sorry, Dean and his honcho Peirs redundant - pity, so soon after bringing them on board - but hey, don't worry - they were pretty useless anyway we could have saved you a fortune if you'd listened - the fan Club are up for consultancy assignments you know? - banks have already spoken to us you'll remember

 

Don't worry Heather, Cfc will send him a cake -

 

 

Happy birthday Ken we lubs ya really!

 

Lots of love

 

the Cabot Fan Club - if I wasn't such a nice one, I'd be tempted to say " we told you so!

Edited September 11, 2009 by andrew1

[BeauBrummie]

Wonder if they have any jobs going for Bookkeepers----I would enjoy actioning writedowns, write offs and bad debts from their balance sheet. LOL

 

Beau

[Rhia]

Already posted this elsewhere...stunning isn't it? I doubt the credit crunch is to blame for a lot of this it's more likely to be the fan club giving them a bloody nose.

 

Thier legal bill must be astronomical trying to terrify people through the courts.

Wonder what three Astons is telling his mates at the golf club. And just what will dear ole Ken tell his missus when his "elegant plans" for his country house have to be shelved.

[Drexl Spivey]

I think you are being a little harsh on that heather from the pdf , she looks like a nice buxom girl to me .

[angry cat]

He doesn't give a fig;

plenty of crystal champers etc... from, elsewhere?

[andrew1]

I think you are being a little harsh on that heather from the pdf , she looks like a nice buxom girl to me .

 

Actually ' Our Heather' is a really lovely person. What you see is what you get - she is delightful, intelligent and yes, attractive to go with it.....both in person and in print and

the Cabot Fan Club has a lot of respect for her, but she is a journalist remember so she doesn't mind the truth...do you Heather?

[lickthewallfatboy]

a couple of funny phrases jumped out at me-

 

"incentivise customers to keep paying",and

 

"increasing willingness to go legal against won't pay debtors"

 

ok-once I'd finished laughing,I think Heather needs to be "educated" on the stupidity of how those sound

[silverfox1961]

Well there's something I didn't know. Cabot being funded by Citi!

 

Here's the rub. Citi sell the debt to Cabot for a few bob, write off the debt against their tax liabilities AND get a share of Cabot's profits (but not this year )

How is that fair business practice. OH! I get it now. Citi ain't fair

[Rhia]

That's what's been going on all along with all the DCAs but Cabot in particular. They were assigning offshore in Ireland with MBNA.

[andrew1]

That's what's been going on all along with all the DCAs but Cabot in particular. They were assigning offshore in Ireland with MBNA.

 

'Were' being the poignant word Rhia - eh ?