ThinkSmart outlines UK expansion plans
Point of sale finance specialist ThinkSmart has formed a partnership with a new retailer in the United Kingdom and has introduced a new finance product in that market, as it shifts its focus from Australia to the UK.ThinkSmart released its annual report on Friday, providing details of a heads of agreement with the do-it-yourself hardware retailer, Kingfisher, to develop "partnership opportunities".ThinkSmart also reported that it had extended its partnership with UK technology retailer Dixons to 2017.It has developed a new product for Dixons called Infinity, which allows consumers to upgrade to a new computer or tablet every two years.In February, ThinkSmart announced that it would concentrate on its UK business operations, following the sale of its loss-making Australian and New Zealand businesses to FlexiGroup in December.FlexiGroup paid A$43 million for RentSmart, a point of sale finance provider, and fido, a no-interest payment plan.ThinkSmart paid a special dividend and undertook a share buyback following the sale. However, it has retained sufficient cash reserves to take advantage of "synergistic growth opportunities".It said it had 58,300 active customers in the UK and $59.6 million of spare funding capacity.