Invocas eyeing up rivals

EDINBURGH debt management firm Invocas said it remained in a strong position to take opportunities to buy rival firms.

In an update ahead of its half-year results, the company said it continued to be cash generative and enjoyed "an extremely strong balance sheet" with a net cash total of more than £4 million.

"We are therefore well placed to take advantage of the opportunities for consolidation and acquisition which the sector is likely to generate over the coming year," said chief executive John Hall.

The firm, one of the UK's leading providers of personal and corporate debt management, said it remained "largely immune" from the margin pressures currently being suffered by the Individual Voluntary Arrangement sector.

Mr Hall said fees for Protected Trust Deed services, the Scottish equivalent to IVAs, which make up in excess of 80 per cent of Invocas' turnover, have not been challenged to the same extent as those for IVA services.

And, because the firm got much of its business from referrals, it has not incurred the same level of costs as many rivals.