Provident dismisses NSF’s £1.3bn bid as flawed

BOSSES at doorstep lender Provident Financial have launched a furious defence against a smaller rival’s hostile takeover attempt, dismissing the offer as ‘risky and flawed’.

Provident yesterday published a 47-page report urging shareholders to reject a £1.3billion all-share offer from Non-Standard Finance (NSF). The firm also announced a number of senior hires, including a new boss for its bank, Vanquis, and two new board members.

But NSF chief executive John van Kuffeler – a former boss of Provident – derided the new board directors as ‘specialists in failure’ following their roles at other struggling firms.

Provident Financial shareholders have until May 8 to accept NonStandard’s takeover offer. Provident’s report yesterday urged investors not to ‘allow your company’s future to be put at risk’.

They said NSF’s offer has ‘significant flaws and would have long-lasting, detrimental consequences for Provident shareholders and customers’, questioning the banking and credit card experience of its rivals.

Provident also yesterday appointed former Sainsbury’s Bank boss Neil Chandler as managing director of Vanquis.

Van Kuffeler hit back, referencing Provident’s recent struggles, which have included profits warnings and a share price plunge.