UK sub-prime lender Amigo says interest in capital raise below target

(Reuters) - Amigo Holdings said on Friday that the expressions of interest it had received so far for a planned capital raise were below its target of 45 million pounds ($55.7 million).

The sub-prime lender won court approval last May for a compensation scheme for past customers and a rescue plan for the business.

The company ceased lending in November 2020 and has been scrambling for survival after a deluge of customer complaints of mis-selling loans. Earlier this month, the company said it had failed to find a cornerstone investor for the raise.

In its Friday statement, Amigo reiterated that if it canot raise the extra funds by May 26, 2023, it would start an orderly wind-down of the business.

Amigo also added that volumes for its pilot lending programme have increased substantially during January 2023.

On Jan. 18, Amigo had said it was looking to extend its lending pilot period, after the volume of completed loans fell short of the minimum lending volume the company needed. ($1 = 0.8082 pounds)

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Simon Jessop)