Ocean Finance is a

loans In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

and

mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

business set up in 1991 in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It became infamous in the late 1990s and early 2000s for its advertising, including sponsoring its own channel on Sky TV and its advertising became widely parodied. The firm prospered on the back of rising house prices and the credit boom. By 2002 the firm was a leading player in the UK's secured loan market valued at over £14bn. The firm was bought by US insurance company

American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...

(AIG) in 2006 for over £200m.

Paul Newey Paul Newey (born 6 September 1968) is an English businessman and semi-professional poker player from Dorset, England who co-founded Ocean Finance and later New Wave Ventures. Career In 1991, Newey co-founded Ocean Finance, a loan and mortgage ...

stepped down as chief executive in 2009. Ocean Finance was the shirt sponsor of

Tamworth F.C. Tamworth Football Club is an English association football club based in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The club participates in the . The club was formed in 1933 after the previous Tamworth club, Tamworth Castle, ceased to exist. After playing in th ...

from 2004 - 2009. In 2008, it launched the UK's first TV channel dedicated to promoting loans and mortgages. Like many other mortgage businesses it struggled after the 2008 global

credit crunch A credit crunch (also known as a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit cr ...

. The Ocean Finance brand was acquired by Think Money Group in 2012. In 2014 the company launched the Ocean Credit Card in conjunction with

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the li ...

Criticisms

In 2004, the firm was criticized by some for its focus on offering second charge (secured) loans, to sub prime customers, often used for

debt consolidation Debt consolidation is a form of debt refinancing that entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This commonly refers to a personal finance process of individuals addressing high consumer debt, but occasionally it can also refer to a cou ...

.{{cite web, last1=Ringshaw, first1=Grant, title=Pioneer of controversial loans to net £250m from Ocean Finance sale, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2896324/Pioneer-of-controversial-loans-to-net-250m-from-Ocean-Finance-sale.html, publisher=The Daily Telegraph, accessdate=18 March 2016

References

External links

Ocean Finance website

Think Money Group
Financial services companies of England Companies based in Manchester British companies established in 1991 Financial services companies established in 1991 1991 establishments in England