Payday lender Wonga gets a £10m boost from shareholders

The emergency cash injection was granted after Britain’s biggest payday lender approached its investors for help.

Wonga said its struggles were due to a “significant” increase industry-wide in people making claims in relation to historic loans.

A Wonga spokesman said: “Wonga continues to make progress against the transformation plan set out for the business. In recent months, however, the short term credit industry has seen a marked increase in claims related to legacy loans, driven principally by claims management company activity.

“In line with this changing market environment, Wonga has seen a significant increase in claims related to loans taken out before the current management team joined the business in 2014.

“As a result, the team has raised £10m of new capital from existing shareholders, who remain fully supportive of management’s plans for the business.”