SLS launches debt solution

The service is being offered to advisers through a partnership with Grant Thornton, enabling borrowers to deal with their debts before they escalate further.

SLS' introduction comes off the back of statistics showing that 110,000 IVAs were put in place in 2007, a figure which is expected to rocket in 2008 to as many as 130,000 cases.

“Mortgage and loan brokers have increasingly been given responsibility under Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation to ensure their clients can afford the finance they are taking on," explained Mat Manser, sales director at Secured Loan Services.

"Our IVA service will give them all of the support they need to make sure clients who are struggling in today’s difficult financial environment have access to the best advice and most appropriate solution for their needs.”

An IVA is only possible where an individual's debts exceed £15,000 and has to be agreed by at least 75 per cent, by value, of the voting creditors.

Today, the average person entering an IVA owes just over £50,000 and agrees to pay back almost 40 per cent of the total.