Loan firm to shed jobs in credit freeze
Jobs are to go at a loans firm's office in Preston as it feels the pinch of the credit crunch.
Loan broker Loans.co.uk has confirmed it is laying off 94 staff across the country with workers at its call centre in Ringway in the city centre expected to feel the cuts.
The company has blamed massive cuts in the amount of credit being made available in the market and the crash in the property market.
A spokesman confirmed that the redundancies would also be felt at its base in Watford, Hertfordshire and Fareham, in Hampshire.
One worker said it was expected 19 jobs would go at the Lancashire base but the company has insisted no decisions have been taken on where the axe will fall.
The spokesman said: "The secured lending market is extremely challenging at the moment and this has led to us making this difficult decision.
"As a loan broker we rely on third party providers to provide loans to our customers.
"A number of our key partners have tightened lending criteria or are unable to accept new business, at the same time, house prices have been declining, making it more difficult for customers to fit within lenders' tighter loan-to-value criteria."
It is expected there will now be a 30-day consultation with staff across the three sites, who were told the news on Thursday.
Jeremy Gregson, an independent financial advisor from Longridge, near Preston, said that the losses were likely to be "the tip of the iceberg" for companies in the financial services market.
Hundreds of bankers across the world have already lost their jobs as a result in the global economic slowdown in recent months.
Mr Gregson said: "Now the banks are really putting the squeeze on the credit they are offering, companies like Loans.co.uk which rely on freely available credit are going to feel it."
Do you work for Loans.co.uk? Tell us your view by emailing david.coates@lep.co.uk or telephone 01772 838162.
>> Vote in our latest web poll
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
