BrightHouse (retailer)
Caversham Finance Limited, trading as BrightHouse, was the largest rent-to-own company in the United Kingdom, with 240 stores. It was a national chain that provided home electronics, domestic appliances, household furniture, other related products on a hire purchase agreements. Cash loans were offered towards the end of the company's existence.
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retailer |
| Founded | April 1994 |
| Defunct | 30 March 2020 |
| Fate | Administration |
| Headquarters | Watford , United Kingdom |
Number of locations | 270 stores |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Alan Gullan (interim CEO) |
| Products | Furniture Consumer electronics Household appliances |
Number of employees | 2,400 (February 2020) |
| Parent | Apollo Global Management |
| Website | www |
Caversham Finance Limited was owned by private equity firm Apollo Management.
In October 2017, the company was ordered by the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to pay 249,000 customers £14.8m due to the firm not compensating customers who had cancelled agreements after one down payment and to those who signed up to "unaffordable" lending agreements. The FCA said the retailer has not been a "responsible lender" and had treated customers unfairly.
On 30 March 2020, Grant Thornton were appointed as administrators. BrightHouse collapsed as "the company had been struggling after an influx of compensation claims for selling to people who could not repay. Its shops were then shut owing to coronavirus restrictions on retailers."