An Inside Look at PRA Group’s Global Expansion
From humble beginnings with a team of just four people, PRA Group has grown and diversified to become a worldwide leader in the nonperforming loans industry. Despite its small stature in its early days, the financial services company had an ambition for geographic diversity as it sought to change the world’s perception of the nonperforming loan industry.
After a decade marked by growth across the U.S., PRA Group entered the UK market in 2012 with their $50 million+ acquisition of Mackenzie Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland. This added approximately 170 employees to the team and served as the starting point for truly global expansion.
10 years later, PRA Group celebrated a decade of business in the U.K. in its new, state-of-the-art office space in the HALO Urban Regeneration Centre. When they moved into the space in 2021, President of PRA Group Europe Martin Sjölund reflected on the success of the company’s expansion: “We could not have found a better home for our U.K. operational hub, and we are immensely grateful for the supportive environment that Scotland offers as we prioritize our investments in innovation, sustainability and European growth.”
Just two years after expanding into Scotland, in 2014 PRA Group built on its success with its purchase of Norway-based financial services company Aktiv Kapital, which services non-performing loans across Europe and Canada. This was the largest acquisition in company history, adding nine countries to our geographic footprint and expanding our global workforce. Many of these colleagues are still with PRA Group as we mark a decade since the acquisition this year.
The geographic diversity afforded by our European business continues to be an asset to PRA Group. In a recent example of our efficient and responsible operations in Europe, during PRA Group’s fourth quarter and year-end 2023 results call, we shared that 2023 cash performance in our European markets exceeded the expectations we set as of December 31, 2022, by 6%.
Now, with additional operations in Australia and South America, PRA Group continues to deepen its reach in markets around the world.
About PRA Group
As a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans, PRA Group, Inc. returns capital to banks and other creditors to help expand financial services for consumers in the Americas, Europe and Australia. With thousands of employees worldwide, PRA Group companies collaborate with customers to help them resolve their debt. For more information, please visit www.pragroup.com.
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Kersey
Senior Vice President, Communications and Public Policy
(757) 641-0558
Elizabeth.Kersey@PRAGroup.com
Investor Contact:
Najim Mostamand, CFA
Vice President, Investor Relations
(757) 431-7913
IR@PRAGroup.com