Bluestone completes purchase of loan receivables from Provincial Finance

The Receivers of Provincial Finance Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary Consumer Credit Limited ("Provincial"), John Waller and Maurice Noone, partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers, today advised that Provincial had sold their remaining finance receivable ledgers to an entity managed by the Bluestone Group ("Bluestone"), an Australasian financial services business. Provincial was placed into receivership in May 2006, owing 11,000 debenture holders approximately $296.1m. Receiver Maurice Noone says, "We are pleased to announce that we have concluded this sale with Bluestone. Doing so allows us to make a further distribution to debenture holders of 8.0 cents in the dollar scheduled for Friday 12 September 2008. This brings total distributions to $268m, or 90.5 cents in the dollar. Mr Noone went on to say that "The sale is a great outcome, one that is in the best interests of debenture holders in that it means the Receivers can now make a further payment to debenture holders, bringing total repayments to near the original forecast ultimate recoveries from the receivership. Further, it allows debenture holders to receive early next month the loan receivable recoveries previously expected over the next two years under an orderly wind down of the finance receivable books." Perpetual Trust chief executive Louise Edwards says, "The earlier than anticipated return of funds is a good result for Provincial Finance debenture holders in the circumstances, and demonstrates that a positive outcome can be achieved through an orderly wind down of a loan book. The sale shows there are willing buyers in the market for loan books with quality assets. PricewaterhouseCoopers have done an excellent job in securing the best possible outcome for debenture holders." Mr Noone went on to state that "Completing the sale de-risks the collection process and simplifies the receivership down to one primary issue, the litigation against Veda Advantage. It also has the additional benefit of providing for ongoing employment to nearly all the remaining Provincial employees with Bluestone." In background, Bluestone was established in 2000 as a specialist financial services lender and asset manager. Bluestone has provided over $5 billion of loans to over 20,000 Australians and New Zealanders, and currently manages a portfolio of approximately $3 billion in Australia and New Zealand. Bluestone is owned by a number of private and institutional shareholders including Bank of Scotland International, UK fund manager, Cambridge Place and Crescent Capital and management. Receiver John Waller says, "It is likely there will be one more distribution to debenture holders but the timing and quantum of any payment is dependent on the outcome of ongoing litigation. Legal action against Veda Advantage is continuing and we will be holding a portion of the sale proceeds back to fund the litigation.". Mr Noone noted that a number of parties had contributed to the successful sale. "The staff and management of Provincial deserve thanks for their dedication, ongoing hard work and support in achieving this outcome. We would also like to thank the debenture holders for their patience over the last two years. "