Kerrigan and the same-day administration
The Kerrigan judgment is what makes Sunny distinctive among UK payday administrations of the period. The hearing took place in March 2020, judgment was reserved until late June, and the firm filed for administration on the day the ruling was handed down. The judgment was published despite the administration on the basis that its findings on affordability assessment would be relevant to ongoing litigation against other lenders, and it has since been cited routinely in disputes over historical short-term loans.
The original direct lender
- Operator Elevate Credit International Ltd
- Parent Elevate Credit Inc (US)
- Sister brands 1 Month Loan, Quid
- Customers ~700,000
- Administration 29 June 2020
- Final dividend 3.21p in £
The current credit broker
- Operator Upward Finance Ltd
- Type Credit broker, AR of Flux Funding
- FCA reference 806333 (Flux Funding)
- Loan range £100 to £2,500
- Term 3 to 36 months
- Connection to original None
Key facts
Both entities and the transition between them. These figures cross-reference Companies House filings with the live FCA register entry as at 28 April 2026.
The current Upward Finance Ltd operates as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited (FCA reference 806333), the same principal firm that authorises the relaunched PaydayUK and The Money Shop. Verify any current entity directly via the FCA register before any application.
How the current Sunny works
The current operation is structurally different from the original. The change of model carries two practical consequences for anyone applying. It governs which activities the current authorisation actually permits. It establishes the right channel for raising any complaint.
It does not lend its own money
Upward Finance Ltd, the operator of the current sunny.co.uk, is a credit broker. It does not issue loans. Applications submitted through sunny.co.uk are passed to a panel of third-party lenders. Approval, terms, interest rate and the credit agreement come from whichever lender accepts the application, not from Sunny.
The AR-of-Flux Funding model
Upward Finance Ltd is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited (FCA reference 806333). Flux Funding holds the FCA authorisation under which Upward Finance Ltd conducts broking activity and takes regulatory responsibility for that conduct. The relaunched PaydayUK and The Money Shop operate under identical principal arrangements with Flux Funding. The shared element across the three brands is the regulatory principal.
The applicant's personal APR depends on the lender
Because Sunny does not set the loan terms, the applicant's APR is determined by the lender that ultimately approves the application. The advertised loan range of £100 to £2,500 over 3 to 36 months is indicative. Specific APR and term come from the panel lender that approves the application. A soft credit check runs at the eligibility stage. Hard searches happen only after a match.
The original Sunny
The original Sunny operated for approximately seven years. Sunny's lending model was unusual within UK payday lending: small loan amounts issued frequently, often allowing customers to hold several concurrent loans. By 2020 the firm had approximately 700,000 customers. Of those, KPMG's later affordability calculator identified more than 500,000 as having been mis-sold loans. That figure, at over 70 percent of the customer base, materially exceeded the proportion identified at any other UK payday lender administration. The Kerrigan court case became the proximate cause of administration. The underlying lending model had been generating affordability liabilities at scale for years.
Brand established
Elevate Credit International Limited launches the Sunny brand in the UK as a payday lending operation. ECIL is the UK subsidiary of US-listed Elevate Credit Inc. The brand pursues a business model based on small, frequent loans with concurrent lending allowed.
FCA assumes consumer credit oversight
The Financial Conduct Authority takes over consumer credit regulation on 1 April 2014. Affordability assessment requirements tighten materially across the sector.
FCA price cap takes effect
The high-cost short-term credit price cap applies from January 2015. Daily interest is capped at 0.8 percent. Default fees are capped at 15 pounds. Total cost of credit may not exceed 100 percent of the principal advanced. Sunny continues to lend within the cap but the proportion of loans likely to give rise to subsequent affordability complaints remains high.
Affordability complaint pressure mounts
Following Wonga's August 2018 administration and CashEuroNet UK's October 2019 administration, Sunny becomes one of the largest active UK payday lenders by customer count. The firm faces a steady stream of affordability complaints, principally relating to its concurrent-lending model and to loans issued before the price cap.
Kerrigan v Elevate Credit hearing
The High Court hears Kerrigan v Elevate Credit International Limited. The case examines ECIL's affordability assessment practices on a sample of representative customer claims. Judgment is reserved at the close of the hearing.
Administration on the day of judgment
The Kerrigan judgment is finalised and ECIL enters administration on the same day. Edward George Boyle and David John Pike from KPMG are appointed as joint administrators. Elevate Credit Inc, the US parent, attributes the decision to "lack of regulatory clarity" and the impact of COVID-19, although the timing relative to the judgment is unmistakable. The judgment finds against ECIL on substantially all counts and is later published despite the administration on the basis that it will assist other parties in similar litigation.
500,000 mis-sold customers identified
KPMG develops a Claims Calculator to identify which Sunny loans were likely to have been issued without adequate affordability assessment. The calculator identifies more than 500,000 of the firm's approximately 700,000 customers as having been mis-sold loans. Affected customers are emailed and invited to claim.
Claim deadline
The deadline to submit a claim against the ECIL administration. Approximately 40,000 customers file claims, well below the 500,000 identified as eligible. Many likely did not file because the administrators had warned the dividend could be less than 1 pence in the pound.
Final dividend distributed
The administrators distribute payments to claimants at approximately 3.21 pence in the pound, the lowest dividend of any major UK payday lender administration. Payment reference on bank statements: "Elevate Sunny".
Domain acquired and relaunched
The sunny.co.uk domain is acquired by Upward Finance Ltd, an unrelated firm. It relaunches as an FCA-authorised credit broker operating as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited. The original ECIL operations remain closed.
If you had a loan from the original Sunny
The ECIL administration is closed to new claims. The reference summary below covers the firm's history and current status.
Compensation
The administration paid a final dividend of approximately 3.21 pence in the pound. No additional dividend payments are scheduled. The Financial Ombudsman Service is unable to consider new complaints against Elevate Credit International Limited because the firm no longer exists. There is no further redress route specifically against the original Sunny. The 500,000-plus mis-sold customer figure identified by KPMG remains the largest known mis-selling cohort at any UK payday lender administration. The comparatively low claim rate of approximately 40,000 (under 8 percent) reflects the discouraging effect of the pre-distribution warning that any dividend might be below 1 pence in the pound.
Outstanding loan balances
Outstanding balances on Sunny loans were sold to third-party debt purchasers as part of the wind-down. Borrowers receiving collection contact in the Sunny, 1 Month Loan or Quid name in 2026 should request the original credit agreement, verify the current owner of the debt, and check whether any redress amount has been correctly set off against the balance. ECIL was unable to recall loans that had been sold to third parties prior to administration. The dividend payment from the administration is a separate matter from any outstanding balance owed to the current loan holder.
The Kerrigan judgment
The Kerrigan v Elevate Credit judgment is publicly available and remains a useful reference for any current affordability dispute relating to historical short-term loans. The judgment establishes principles on affordability assessment that apply more broadly than to ECIL alone. Customers in dispute with current debt purchasers over historical Sunny balances may find the judgment relevant when assessing whether the original loan was issued in compliance with the affordability requirements then in force.
If you are dealing with historical Sunny debt
None of the services below charge for help with debt or credit. All four operate independently of any lender, broker or claims management business. Each offers free guidance on challenged historical balances, communications with debt purchasers and the structured options for unmanageable debt.
Considerations for the current Sunny
For applicants considering using the current sunny.co.uk credit broker, three structural points are worth understanding before applying.
The current Sunny is not the original Sunny
The Kerrigan judgment, the 500,000 mis-sold customers and the lowest dividend in the sector all attach to the original ECIL operation. None of that history attaches to the current operator. Upward Finance Ltd has no corporate, operational, or financial connection to Elevate Credit International Limited or its US parent Elevate Credit Inc. Reputation, service record and product memory from the original lender do not pass to the broker that revived the brand. The current broker should be judged on its own service record, distinct from the original lender's pre-2020 history.
The shared AR principal with PaydayUK and The Money Shop
Sunny operates as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Flux Funding Limited. The relaunched PaydayUK and the relaunched Money Shop operate under identical principal arrangements with Flux Funding. Three relaunched broker brands share a single FCA principal firm, with no shared corporate history with each other or with their respective original direct lenders. The shared element is regulatory: Flux Funding takes responsibility under FCA rules for each operator's conduct of broking activity.
The applicant's APR is not knowable in advance
Because the broker does not set rates, the headline loan range published on sunny.co.uk does not predict what any specific applicant will be offered. APR varies by matched lender and reflects the borrower's credit history, loan size and length of term. Indicative figures come back from the eligibility step. The lender's underwriting then sets actual terms.
Established active brokers and direct lenders worth considering.
Three currently-active FCA firms with deeper continuity of ownership than the relaunched brand carries. Each is constrained by the FCA price cap on short-term lending.
Established broker with a wide panel covering most major direct lenders. Trading without interruption since 2011 under the same management. Loans from 100 to 10,000 pounds.
The largest UK direct short-term lender by verified review volume. Operating since 2008 under continuous FCA authorisation. Lend their own money.
Direct lender with a focus on adverse-credit applicants. Operating since 2014. Affordability-led underwriting, no rollovers, no late fees.
Sources and verification
Original Sunny administration details verified against the FCA statement of 29 June 2020 and the London Gazette notice of intended dividends.
Final dividend figure of 3.21 pence in the pound and the 500,000 mis-sold customer count sourced from Debt Camel's record of the ECIL administration and KPMG creditor correspondence.
Kerrigan v Elevate Credit International Limited details and the relationship to administration timing sourced from contemporaneous reporting and Debt Camel's analysis. The judgment was published despite the administration on the basis that it would assist similar litigation.
Elevate Credit Inc corporate position on the UK exit verified against the parent company press release of 29 June 2020.
Current operator structure and the Introducer Appointed Representative relationship verified against sunny.co.uk on 4 May 2026 and the FCA register entry for Flux Funding Limited (806333).
Swift Money Limited is a credit broker, not a lender. Inclusion in this directory does not imply a commercial relationship between Swift Money and either entity operating under the Sunny brand. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 738569.