A LATVIAN payday loan company has revealed plans to double the size of its North-East workforce.

4finance Limited, which has its UK headquarters in Stockton, expects to employ about 60 staff by the end of this year and it is already eyeing new office space to support further expansion plans which could see that number increase to more than 100 by next year.

Through the Vivus brand, the company aims to be one of the UK’s leading unsecured lending businesses and repair the image of the sector.

Tom Newbould, the firm’s UK managing director, said that the company offered an alternative to other short-term loan companies which have been accused of charging customers exorbitant rates of interest.

“We want to be loved by our customers, not hated by them, as is the case with some companies operating in our industry,”

said Mr Newbould, who revealed that the firm rejects about 75 per cent of loan applicants and about 80 per cent of its customers repay their loans in full within 30 days.

“We are very selective about who we take on as customers. People will be refused if they have a poor credit history. Basically, we only want customers who are going to be able to afford to make the repayments.”

The business operates a fee-free nought per cent loan for new customers but thereafter charges are £20 for every £100 borrowed, meaning that a customer borrowing £300 will have to repay £360 within 30 days.

The company has grown rapidly since it was established by four student friends in Riga in 2008. It now employs 550 staff and has provided more that two million loans to more than one million customers across Europe and the US.