Wonga Shake-Up Goes On As Jordan Takes Top UK Job

The overhaul of senior management at Britain's most prominent payday lender will continue this week when a former Travelex executive is appointed to run its British operations.

Sky News has learnt that Wonga will announce on Tuesday that Tommy Jordan will replace Tara Kneafsey as the chief executive of its largest division following her recent promotion to run the overall group.

Mr Jordan, who has spent several months at Wonga as its UK commercial director, joined the company late last year from Travelex, the foreign currency provider.

Insiders said that Mr Jordan had played a key role developing a flexible loan product launched by Wonga earlier this year as it seeks to diversify away from the short-term lending activity that sparked political and public controversy.

Wonga declined to comment on Mr Jordan's appointment, although a person close to it said the authorisation by City watchdogs of the company's licence to operate had provided it with a solid foundation to build a sustainably profitable business.

Executives are targeting a return to the black in 2017 after several years of losses triggered by spiralling regulatory and restructuring costs.

Ms Kneafsey's promotion has paved the way for Andy Haste, Wonga's chairman since 2014, to step back to a non-executive role.

Wonga's losses have totalled nearly £120m in the last two years following a string of scandals and costs associated with cutting hundreds of jobs.

Income was also hit by the introduction of a cap on the amount that lenders can charge consumers for short-term loans.

Wonga executives will also have to continue rebuilding its public image amid continuing disdain for the payday lending industry.

Earlier this year, Wonga secured a £25m debt package to fund new loans and provide additional working capital.

Its management is seeking to diversify its business away from the short-term lending model that made it a lightning rod for political and public anger over the sector's rapid growth.

A 90-day instalment loan product, trialled late last year, has now become a permanent fixture of Wonga's offering, enabling customers greater flexibility to spread repayments over a longer period.

It was the first extension of the Wonga brand to be unveiled since the company announced that it had made a loss of more than £37m in 2014.

Last year, it was ordered by the City watchdog to pay more than £2.5m in compensation to 45,000 customers who were sent letters purporting to be from law firms but which in fact did not exist.

Once tipped to seek a public listing in New York at a lofty valuation, Wonga has considered - and rejected - measures including a sale of BillPay, its German consumer finance business, which it acquired in 2013 before its future was plunged into doubt.

Many of Wonga's smaller rivals are being forced to cease trading or sell assets following the recent introduction of a new regulatory framework for the payday lending sector.