Key facts
Ferratum UK Limited stopped lending and entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation on 31 December 2021. The summary below records the key facts of the UK exit and the position of the parent group.
Operating entity: Ferratum UK Limited, renamed Ounapuu Ltd on 4 November 2021. The rename was filed at Companies House before the liquidation. The parent Multitude SE (formerly Ferratum Group) is a public company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland and Malta. Source: Companies House records for Ounapuu Ltd; Multitude SE corporate website.
Timeline
Ferratum UK's history is shorter than many UK payday administrations because the parent group made an active decision to exit the UK market through a structured liquidation rather than continue trading through margin compression.
Ferratum Group founded
Jorma Jokela founds Ferratum in Finland as one of the early European mobile-first payday lenders. The original product is a single-payment short-term loan applied for via SMS. The group expands rapidly across European markets through 2007 to 2014.
Ferratum UK launched
Ferratum UK Limited is incorporated as the UK arm of Ferratum Group. The product is short-term loans of £50 to £700 over 1 to 4 month terms, marketed online with a fully digital application process. The UK is one of the larger of Ferratum's European markets by loan volume.
Ferratum Group IPO
Ferratum Group lists on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, providing capital for further European expansion. The UK subsidiary continues to operate within the post-cap UK payday loan framework.
Ferratum Group renamed Multitude SE
The parent group rebrands as Multitude SE to signal a strategic shift away from short-term high-cost lending towards mobile banking and SME lending. The UK subsidiary continues to trade under the Ferratum name during this period.
UK affordability complaint volumes rise
The Financial Ombudsman Service starts upholding affordability complaints against Ferratum UK at high rates. The complaint pattern is consistent with the broader UK short-term loan market of the period. Multitude SE evaluates the strategic position of the UK subsidiary and concludes that continuing operation is not commercially viable under the post-cap economics.
UK entity renamed Ounapuu Ltd
The UK subsidiary is renamed from Ferratum UK Limited to Ounapuu Ltd. The change is filed at Companies House. The rename is structurally typical of consumer credit wind-downs where the group wishes to preserve the trading brand for potential future use in other markets while detaching it from the UK insolvency.
Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation
Ounapuu Ltd enters Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. Paul Boyle, David Clements and Anthony Murphy of Harrisons Business Recovery are appointed joint liquidators. Lending stops. The CVL procedure is chosen rather than administration because the directors propose the liquidation and creditors approve it. The procedure allows a structured wind-down without court appointment of an administrator.
Liquidation phase
The liquidators run the standard CVL phase: realising assets, processing affordability claims and distributing any available estate to creditors. UK customer redress claims are handled within the liquidation. The parent Multitude SE has no obligation to fund the UK liquidation beyond the assets of Ounapuu Ltd.
What went wrong
The Ferratum UK case is structurally different from most UK payday administrations because the closure was an active strategic exit by an internationally operating parent rather than the failure of a UK-specific business. The UK liquidation was a controlled wind-down within a continuing global group.
CVL versus administration
A Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation is procedurally distinct from administration. In a CVL the directors propose liquidation and the creditors approve it at a meeting. In administration the court appoints an administrator and the directors lose control. Multitude SE chose CVL for the UK exit because it allowed a faster and more controlled wind-down. The parent group preserved the international Ferratum brand for use in markets where the group continues to operate.
UK affordability complaint exposure
Ferratum UK was exposed to the same UK affordability complaints landscape as other online payday lenders. The Financial Ombudsman Service was upholding affordability complaints against UK payday loan firms at high rates throughout 2019 and 2020. Multitude SE concluded that the post-cap UK economics did not support continued trading once the redress liability was provisioned in full.
Strategic refocusing of the parent group
Multitude SE rebranded from Ferratum Group in June 2021 to signal a strategic shift away from short-term high-cost lending towards mobile banking and SME finance. The UK exit was consistent with this group-level strategy. The UK subsidiary was treated as a non-core operation that did not align with the parent's future direction.
Why a UK-only wind-down
Ferratum operated in around 20 European markets at the time of the UK exit. The UK liquidation did not affect operations in other countries. The parent group has continued to trade through Multitude Bank in continental Europe and through the Ferratum brand in markets where the local economics still support short-term lending. The UK was the only market where a regulated wind-down was applied.
If you had a Ferratum UK loan
The CVL is the relevant procedure for any historical Ferratum UK claim. The summary below records what former Ferratum UK customers should expect in 2026.
Successful affordability claimants
Claimants whose affordability complaints were upheld within the CVL became unsecured creditors of Ounapuu Ltd. The claim entitlement was recorded against the estate. Any dividend payable from the liquidation will be calculated on agreed claim amounts when the liquidators conclude the asset realisation phase. Borrowers needing new credit while a legacy claim is unresolved can apply for a same-day loan from an active FCA-authorised direct lender instead.
Outstanding loan balances
Ferratum UK loan balances outstanding when Ounapuu Ltd entered liquidation were collected as part of the asset realisation process. Loans were sold or assigned to a third-party debt purchaser during the wind-down. Borrowers receiving collection contact in the Ferratum or Ounapuu name in 2026 are dealing with the debt purchaser rather than the original lender or the parent Multitude SE.
Loans sold to a third-party debt purchaser
Loans sold to a third-party debt purchaser as part of the wind-down are now owned by the new owner. The original Ferratum UK credit agreement terms transferred to the new owner. Anyone receiving collection contact in 2026 should ask the new owner for the original Ferratum UK credit agreement plus a deed of assignment before making any payment. Any complaint about original mis-selling is now a matter for the debt purchaser to handle.
Compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
High-cost credit firms, including those that historically offered bad credit payday loans, are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The CVL is the only redress route. The parent Multitude SE has no UK obligation beyond the assets of Ounapuu Ltd. The Financial Ombudsman Service is unable to consider new complaints against Ounapuu Ltd because of the liquidation.
If you are in current financial difficulty
The four bodies below provide free, impartial guidance to former Ferratum UK customers and other consumer credit borrowers. None of them charge for help. None have any commercial relationship with a lender, broker or claims management firm. Each can advise on disputed historical balances and on the formal options available where a balance cannot reasonably be paid.
The regulatory legacy
The Ferratum UK case is the clearest UK example of an internationally operating consumer credit group exiting the UK market by structured liquidation while continuing to trade in other countries. The case also illustrates the use of an entity rename ahead of liquidation as a structuring step.
UK exit by international group as a pattern
Ferratum UK is one of a small number of UK consumer credit closures driven by an international parent's strategic decision rather than the failure of a UK-specific business. The CashEuroNet UK administration in October 2019 (covering QuickQuid, Pounds to Pocket and Onstride) was driven by parent Enova International's UK exit decision. Both cases illustrate how UK affordability complaint volumes can render UK operations commercially unviable for parent groups that continue to trade in other markets.
The active UK short-term credit market in 2026
Borrowers who would previously have used Ferratum UK for a short-term advance now typically apply for unsecured short-term credit from the active panel of FCA-authorised direct lenders. A small loan from a direct lender is the more likely fit where the amount needed is modest. The active UK market is concentrated among a smaller number of larger operators than during the period in which Ferratum UK was lending.
Position of Multitude SE
Multitude SE continues to operate as a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The group has refocused on Multitude Bank (an EU-regulated mobile banking subsidiary) and on SME lending through SweepBank and other brand operations. The Ferratum brand survives in some non-UK markets. Multitude SE has no current UK lending operation and has indicated no plans to re-enter the UK market.
Where former Ferratum UK customers borrow now.
Three FCA-authorised firms in the UK short-term loan market that former Ferratum UK customers may now consider. None are connected to Multitude SE, the historic Ferratum Group or any of its UK trading entities. All operate within the FCA price cap framework.
Direct lender for short-term instalment loans of £100 to £1,500 over up to 6 months. Gain Credit LLC, FCA authorised since 2008. The closest active peer to Ferratum UK in product structure and target customer.
Direct lender for online instalment loans of £300 to £1,100 over 4 to 12 months. Western Circle Limited, FCA authorised since 2014. Established UK direct-lender alternative to closed online payday brands.
Line-of-credit facility, with credit limits typically £50 to £3,000 and interest charged only on amounts drawn. Gain Credit LLC, FCA authorised since 2008. Different product structure from Ferratum UK's fixed-term instalment model.
Sources and verification
Operating entity: Ferratum UK Limited (Companies House registration), renamed Ounapuu Ltd on 4 November 2021. The rename was filed at Companies House before the liquidation. Verified against the active Companies House filing register on 28 April 2026.
Liquidation procedure: Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation commenced 31 December 2021. Joint liquidators: Paul Boyle, David Clements and Anthony Murphy of Harrisons Business Recovery & Insolvency. The CVL is procedurally distinct from administration. Directors initiate the liquidation and creditors approve it at a statutory meeting.
Parent group: Multitude SE (formerly Ferratum Group), public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland and Malta. Continues to operate in around 20 markets through Multitude Bank, the Ferratum brand in non-UK markets and SweepBank.
Companies House records: Companies House records for Ounapuu Ltd. The active filing record contains the rename filing, the appointment of liquidators and subsequent statutory accounts during the liquidation phase.
Verification approach: All milestones verified against Companies House filings, Multitude SE corporate disclosures and contemporaneous trade reporting. Swift Money Limited is a credit broker, not a lender. This page is an editorial record published by Swift Money. The firm has no commercial relationship with Ounapuu Ltd, Multitude SE or the liquidators. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 738569.