Cabot Credit Posts 2013 Revenue Jump

Cabot Credit Management, a United Kingdom and Ireland-based debt buyer, posted a 13 percent jump in revenue for 2013, attributing much of the growth to purchasing semi-performing portfolios that tend to have a "longer annuity stream" for collections. The revenue increase continues a 15-year track record of steady growth, according to the company.

San Diego-based debt buyer Encore Capital Group and New York-based buyout firm J.C. Flowers bought Cabot Credit last year. Encore Capital buys delinquent accounts from banks, credit unions and utilities and had long sought channels for taking advantage of growth opportunities in the U.K., the world's largest debt purchase market after the U.S.

Encore Capital announced in February that it was acquiring UK-based debt buyer Marlin Financial Services for approximately $481 million throughout its Cabot Credit arm in a deal being financed with debt taken on by Cabot. The deal led to the departure of Neil Clyne as Cabot’s CEO. He was replaced by Marlin’s CEO Ken Stannard.

Stannard said the acquisition of Marlin allows the company to "leverage the full extent of the UK market growth with complementary product offerings" and accelerate the move into secondary and tertiary markets. The partnership will give CCM access to more capital and allow the company to expand into other asset categories, according to a company news release.