Staff Reporter
Pepper remains firmly on the acquisition trail, with the lender buying Celeris, a Spanish consumer loan business.
Yesterday, Pepper announced it had agreed to acquire the business which includes a portfolio of approximately 164,000 performing consumer loans and a small non-performing loan book, representing in aggregate approximately €290 million in receivables.
Founded in 2006, Celeris is a provider of personal loans and sales finance, owned by a consortium of Spanish savings banks and financial institutions.
In addition to acquiring the consumer loan business and operating platform, Pepper will, under a separate agreement, also take over the servicing of Celeris’ portfolio of residential mortgages.
The transaction, which should be completed by the end of the month, will also provide Pepper with 121 new employees.
According to a statement by Pepper, current Celeris customers will not be affected by the transaction; however, the business will trade as Pepper Finance Corporation.
