After eight decades as a fixture on the retail landscape, appliance and furniture dealer Standard Distributors has been sold to digital finance firm Term Finance (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, Standard’s new and former owners said in a surprise announcement.
The change of ownership will see the long-standing retailer relaunch as Standard Credit.
Term Finance already operates short-term lending services on the island.
The Trinidad-based, regional conglomerate ANSA McAL confirmed that an undisclosed number of Standard employees have lost their jobs, though some will be absorbed into the wider ANSA McAL Group.
ANSA McAL, the parent company of ANSA Motors, ANSA Merchant Bank, Bryden Stokes, Trident Insurance and ANSA Trading, has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
But the company sought to allay the concerns of around 100 employees following the closure of Standard Distributors over the weekend.
ANSA McAL said: “Where possible, team members have been offered continued employment with Standard or reassigned within the ANSA McAL Group of Companies. Others have been offered enhanced separation packages underscoring the company’s commitment to fairness and respect during this transition.”
Affected employees will continue to have access to the group’s employee assistance programme, which includes wellbeing support services and financial planning assistance over the next two months, the conglomerate added.
“To further support affected employees, ANSA McAL will host job fairs in Trinidad and Barbados [this month]. These events will provide access to new employment opportunities, career-planning resources and professional development guidance.”
The move will see Standard’s extensive hire purchase portfolio transition to Term Finance (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited. Term Finance also operates in Guyana, Jamaica and St Lucia. Last year, the company obtained regulatory approval to acquire the assets and lending operations of My Finance Grenada Ltd.
Customers with existing hire purchase agreements will experience a seamless transition and can continue making their scheduled payments, the new owner said.
Regarding future operations here, Term Finance Holdings’ Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Farah said in a statement: “Our goal is to preserve that trust while introducing new financial solutions that give customers freedom to spend wherever they get the best deals. Evolving the Standard brand to Standard Credit is our way of telling the market that Term Finance is coming to the high street.”
Term Finance’s primary shareholders are PointWest Capital and the First Citizens Group. Oliver Sabga is a co-founder of the company and chief executive officer. It is a fully web-based credit institution offering consumer loans, small business credit and prepaid MasterCard services.
(IMC)
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