LONDON: Provident Financial plc announced the appointment of Hamish Paton as Managing Director of its Consumer Credit Division (CCD), subject to regulatory approval. He will take over from Chris Gillespie, who is joining H&T Group plc, a FTSE listed pawnbroker, having held the role since August 2017.
Hamish Paton has a strong consumer finance background and excellent sector knowledge, having served as CEO of Amigo Holdings plc (‘Amigo’) from July 2019 until his resignation in December 2019, and prior to this as CEO of BrightHouse, from 2016 to 2019. Hamish will join Provident Financial on 14 September, with Chris leaving on 31 August. Arrangements have been put in place to allow an orderly handover.
Malcolm Le May, Chief Executive Officer of Provident Financial, said: “I would like to thank Chris Gillespie for all that he has done within CCD since he took over in 2017. Chris joined at a very difficult time for the business and has done a remarkable job in turning around its operations. The successful roll out of Provident Direct under his leadership, for example, has allowed us to carry on serving our customers during the Covid-19 crisis.
“I look forward to welcoming Hamish Paton when he joins Provident Financial. His extensive sector experience, and existing knowledge of our customer base, make him the ideal person to continue the work needed to get CCD back to a position of strength and profitability.”
Hamish Paton said: “I am delighted to be joining Provident Financial as Managing Director of CCD and look forward to working with the excellent team there. The Group’s home credit business has existed for nearly 140 years and continues to enjoy excellent market share and strong brand recognition within its customer base. I look forward to developing CCD whilst incorporating the Group’s strong sense of social purpose, which places the customer at the heart of everything it does.”
Provident Financial plc is a leading provider of credit products which provide financial inclusion for those consumers who are not well served by mainstream lenders. The Group serves 2.3 million customers and its operations consist of Vanquis Bank, Moneybarn, and the Consumer Credit Division (CCD) comprising Provident home credit and Satsuma.