BREAKING NEWS: Radio Rentals Tipped To Be Up For Sale, Months After Being Fined Millions

Radio Rentals the business owned by the Thorn Group is set to be put up for sale according to insiders, the latest development comes months after the Company was fined millions by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

The Thorn Group is believed to have appointed advisors in an effort to offload their Radio Rentals business sooner rather than later, according to sources.

The group tipped to buy the NSW based Company is the Adelaide-based Radio Rentals company that shares the same name.

Back in January 2018 the Thorn owned Radio Rentals agreed to refund nearly $20 million to customers tied up in leases they can’t afford to pay.

Thorn Group also agreed to pay a $2 million fine after admitting to breaking national consumer laws.

The agreement followed a lengthy investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) into the business’s lending practices, focusing on whether people signing the leases had the capacity to pay.

Radio Rentals has agreed to refund or write off $6.1 million in default fees, and to pay back an additional $13.8 million in excess lease payments.

The breaches relate to more than 270,000 leases entered into between January 2012 and May 2015.

At the time Radio Rentals in South Australia who also sell electrical goods and furniture moved to distance themselves from the actions of the Thorn owned business with the same name.

The Australian said that with the South Australian Radio Rentals eager to embark on a stock market listing in the next few years, an acquisition of Thorn’s Radio Rentals operation could prevent a great deal of confusion for those wanting to buy into the business in an initial public offering.

Thorn Group owns the trademark for Radio Rentals everywhere except Adelaide.

Thorn’s market value is about $95 million.