On June 28 Solaris Law Ltd, part of the Azzurro Group, completed the acquisition of Shoosmiths’ Business-to-Business Recoveries division (in England & Wales), formally merging the two teams and moving to modern new offices on the Solent Business Park, Whiteley.
The announcement is the first part of a two-part transaction that will ultimately lead to Solaris Law becoming one of the largest commercial and consumer collections and legal debt recovery businesses in the UK. This will follow once the acquisition of Equivo’s Legal Services division receives its expected regulatory approvals later in the year.
Karen Bulgarelli, COO & Director at Azzurro and CEO of Solaris Law , says she is excited with the progress being made: “Our ambition is to make Solaris Law a genuine market-leader with a business built on delivering data-driven, customer focused recovery strategies that lead to good customer outcomes and an exemplary client experience.”
She believes the business will be unique in providing complete service lines across the full credit lifecycle: “From early and live collections and recoveries to litigation and beyond our teams will be able to deliver the full suite of services for creditors,” she adds, “and with the knowledge that they are working with true sector experts and experienced legal professionals with more than a hundred years’ experience between them.”
Work has already started on transitioning the teams into the new business and contacting clients to ensure the highest levels of service are maintained. The case management platform is common across all parties, and further investment in additional systems and infrastructure is planned.
Once the second stage of the acquisition is completed, Shoosmiths Banking & Finance partner, Mel Chell will step in to lead the Consumer business and at this point the team will comprise approximately 150 employees across three sites: Southampton, Northampton and Manchester.
Mel said: “ we are excited about the opportunities this transfer brings. Moving to Solaris Law and merging our teams will allow us to enhance our services and continue delivering exceptional results for our clients, I am personally looking forward to joining Solaris and contributing to our shared success.”
Azzurro is also delighted to announce two additions to its senior team that will deliver increased strategic management & governance.
Leigh Berkley has joined as an independent Non-Executive Director and Consumer Duty Champion. A well regarded veteran of the credit management sector, Leigh’s career has benefitted from deep engagement with the UK Government and regulators, particularly the FCA, creditors and trade bodies, the debt advice sector, consumer groups and other industry stakeholders.
Claire Moore will be joining the Azzurro Group as Chief Risk Officer. Claire is acknowledged as being a transformational leader who excels at engaging teams to maximise colleague engagement and customer outcomes to achieve strategic goals. Building a high performing team has been key to her career as COO at a number of major consumer lenders, delivering significant cost efficiencies while improving the customer experience.
The Azzurro Group is regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Azzurro was also the first non-lender to sign up to the Lending Standards Board’s Code for Business Standards.
Equivo’s Field Team and High Court Enforcement Business will not form part of the new business, and will continue to operate under the Equivo brand.
