Non-Standard Finance losses widen after Provident bid costs

Non-Standard Finance (NSF) counted the cost of its failed bid for Provident Financial in its half-year results as its reported losses widened.

The lender said it had booked exceptional charges of £25.3 million for the period, including £12.7 million associated with the attempted takeover.

Other costs included a £12.5 million writedown on the value of its Loans At Home business.

Losses before tax came in at £22.8 million, compared with a £2.6 million loss last year.

Chief executive John van Kuffeler said: “Whilst we believe strongly that a combination with Provident Financial plc would have accelerated the delivery of benefits for customers, employees and shareholders, each of our businesses continued to perform well during the first half.

“Our strategy remains unchanged and we remain on course to deliver attractive long-term returns through a combination of income and capital growth.”

It comes less than a month after Provident revealed that its own costs from the tussle over the £1.3 billion attempted merger had totalled almost £24 million.

NSF called off the hostile bid in June after failing to get enough backing from shareholders.

It brought an end to an increasingly acrimonious takeover saga, with the pair engaging in a war of words since the bid was first tabled on February 22.

Excluding the exceptional costs, NSF said pre-tax profits rose 12% to £6.3 million in the first half.

Meanwhile, revenue jumped 16% on a reported basis to £87.1 million.

Shares in the company were marginally higher in morning trading on Tuesday, up 0.83% to 33.88p.