MCL.L Regulatory News (MCL)

1 May 2019

Morses Club PLC

Board changes

Morses Club PLC ("the Company"), the UK's second largest home collected credit lender, announces changes to the Board of the Company.

We are pleased to announce that Baroness Simone Finn has been appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director and Chair of the Audit and Risk & Compliance Committees with effect from 5 May 2019.

Baroness Finn is a member of the UK House of Lords. She is a former government adviser on industrial relations, efficiency and Civil Service reform. She advises international governments in these fields, amongst others, through the consultancy business of which she is managing director. Baroness Finn also has a deep grounding in regulatory compliance and corporate governance excellence. She is a chartered accountant by profession and is experienced in audit practice through her previous roles and her membership of the Audit Committee of Arbuthnot Latham. She previously worked at the Financial Services Authority, the predecessor of the FCA.

Alongside this new appointment, Patrick Storey has informed the Board that he wishes to retire as an independent non-executive director of the Company when his current three year term of office expires, on 4 May 2019.

The Board of Morses Club welcomes Baroness Finn to the Board, and wishes to express its sincere gratitude to Patrick Storey for his excellent service to the Company during the last three years.

Stephen Karle, Chairman of Morses Club PLC, said "We are delighted to welcome Baroness Simone Finn to the Board. Her experience and understanding of the regulatory environment will be a valuable addition to the Board and we look forward to working closely with her."

For further information

Simone Jari Finn (nee Kubes), age 50, is currently a director or a partner as shown below. She has not been a director or partner of any other company or partnership during the last five years.

Current Directorships Current Partnerships

FMAP Limited FMA Partners LLP

The Conservative Party Foundation Limited Francis Maude Associates LLP

Save as set out in this announcement, there are no further matters to be disclosed in accordance with AIM Rule 17 and paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Notes to Editors

About Morses Club

Morses Club is the second largest UK Home Collected Credit (HCC) lender with 235,000 customers and 1,942 agents across 98 locations throughout the UK.

The Company offers a range of loan products to its customers through its extensive self-employed agent network. The majority of the Company's borrowers are repeat customers and the Company enjoys consistently high customer satisfaction with scores of 97% or above1.

The Company is using technology to broaden its offering and provide new products to ensure customers can access credit with the flexibility they require. In April 2016, its cashless lending product, the Morses Club Card, was introduced, enabling its customers to buy online as well as on the high street. Dot Dot Loans, the Company's first online instalment product, was launched in March 2017.

Morses Club successfully listed on AIM in May 2016. 

About the UK non-standard credit market

The UK non-standard credit market, of which UK HCC is a subset, consists of both secured and unsecured lending and is estimated to comprise around 10 million consumers2.

Non-standard credit is the provision of secured and unsecured credit to consumers other than through mainstream lenders. Lenders providing non-standard credit principally lend on an unsecured basis and the market is characterised by high frequency borrowing.

Since February 2014, unsecured personal lending has grown from £161 billion to £216 billion in February 20193.

1 Independent Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by Mustard2 FCA High Cost Credit Review Technical Annex 1: CRA data analysis of UK personal debt - July 20173 Source: Table A5.2, Bank of England Money and Credit Bankstats February 2019

About UK Home Collected Credit

UK HCC is considered to be a specialised segment of the broader UK non-standard credit market. UK HCC loans are typically small, unsecured cash loans delivered directly to customers' homes. Repayments are collected in person during weekly follow-up visits to customers' homes.

UK HCC is considered to be stable and well-established, with approximately 1.6 million2 people using the services of UK HCC lenders.

2 High Cost Credit Review ANNEX 1 - July 2017