Provident guns for growth with arrival of new chairman

PROVIDENT Financial’s investors are hopeful that a former tank commander credited with reviving Aviva and Suncorp can bring the troubled doorstep lender back to life.

The company said yesterday that Patrick Snowball will become its chairman from September. The high-profile appointment, combined with a promise that shareholders will receive a small payout for 2018, sent Provident’s shares up 8.6pc to 670p yesterday.

Mr Snowball is an ex-army tank commander. After 19 years in the Army he joined the financial services industry, going on to run Aviva’s UK business where he was considered a key driver of its success following the mergers of Norwich Union, Commercial Union and General Accident.

He was later credited with turning around Suncorp, where he became chief executive in 2009.

He was most recently the chairman of Integrafin Holdings, the holding company of finance firm Transact.

The appointment of Mr Snowball overshadowed a 62pc plunge in pre-tax profits to £34.6m for the six months to June as collections in Provident’s home credit business remained low during the second quarter. Revenue fell 7.5pc to £572.5m.

The lender is fighting to win back customers following a torrid year in which it lost almost 70pc of its value and crashed out of the FTSE 100, after a botched attempt to modernise led to an exodus of the door-to-door sales staff that it relies on.

Malcolm Le May, the chief executive, said he believed the company remained “well placed to champion the underserved” and provide credit to people when they needed it.

Mr Snowball added that the business “plays a valuable role … in delivering financial inclusion”.