Aascent - Above the rest

Welcome to Aascent
Aascent Finance Company Limited - In Administration

Your brokerage currently holds an Agency Agreement with Aascent Finance Company Limited (Aascent). I am writing to advise you that Aascent has entered into Administration on 7 July 2008 and Daniel Smith and myself of Grant Thornton UK LLP have been appointed Joint Administrators. This will not effect existing loans on which you have received the premium and these loans will continue to operate as normal. The Agency remains valid and this letter will advise you how to proceed.

To minimise any inconvenience to you and your clients, I have entered into an Agreement with Close Premium Finance (Close), a division of Close Brothers Limited, to act on behalf of the Administrators in both the run off of the existing client portfolio, and also to provide the opportunity of replacement funding for the business you have already submitted to Aascent but not yet been paid for (pipeline business), and any future business. Close will be in touch with you directly to advise on how funding of your recently submitted pipeline business and future loans is to be accommodated.

As Joint Administrator I will be working on behalf of Aascent, alongside staff from both Aascent and Close to ensure that the existing portfolio of loans is run off smoothly. Can I stress that existing loans will continue to run their course, with client collections unaltered, and that you should take no action on any of these loans. Should any of these existing loans default or move on to be cancelled, we shall liaise with you on a loan by loan basis to ensure recovery of the outstanding balances.

To try and answer what I expect will be some obvious questions brokers and clients may have, I attach a Question and Answer sheet to give some further information.

If you still have unanswered questions, please continue to call the Aascent telephone numbers which will be manned by a combination of Aascent staff under the supervision of Close, who act on my behalf.

Yours faithfully
For and on behalf of Aascent Finance Company Limited

Malcolm Shierson
Joint Administrator

Questions and Answers
The following Questions and Answers are provided in an attempt to answer some of the questions that Brokers and Clients may have following Aascent Finance Company Limited being placed into Administration.

Q Do I need to rearrange finance for my existing clients?
A There are several parts to this answer;
Client loans where you have already received the premium from Aascent - will not alter. Client collections will continue to be made exactly in accordance with the payment schedule they have already received, and provided there is no default on the loans there is no further action to take.
Loans where the application is with Aascent but you have not yet received the premium - to ensure that an immediate solution is available for you and your clients details of these loans have been passed to Close Premium Finance (Close), along with collections already made by Aascent from the client. We have asked Close to fund these loans and they will be in touch with you in the next few days to confirm arrangements.
Loans not yet submitted to Aascent and future renewals of Aascent clients - again we have asked Close to provide the opportunity of replacement funding to fund these so that an immediate solution is available to you and your clients.

Q What if I don't have an Agency with Close?
A Many Aascent brokers have an existing Agency with Close and that arrangement has been duplicated already by Close to provide a separate Agency for those brokers to process their Aascent business. Close will be in touch in the next few days to confirm the Agency detail and how to process future loans.
For Brokers who do not have an existing agency with Close I have asked them to arrange immediate facilities. In most cases this has already been actioned by them as a replica of the Aascent agency, allowing swift processing of loans that are due now. Again, Close will be in touch with you shortly to confirm how this works.

Q Is my Aascent Agency terminated?
A No. The obligations contained within your Agency Agreement continue for all loans entered into prior to the date Aascent was placed into Administration. This includes actioning any requests from Aascent to cancel client policies after cancellation of a loan, and to pay across and return premiums. Aascent does not have the ability to fund any future loans, which is why we have asked Close to assist.

Q What about funding mid term adjustments for existing Aascent loans?
AWhilst Aascent is no longer in a position to fund any new loans, MTA's shall be services by Aascent on existing loans on a normal basis for the foreseeable future.

Q Who should I speak to if I have a query on an existing Aascent loan?
AThe existing phone lines at Aascent will continue and you should call them. They will be manned for the period of the portfolio run off by Aascent staff under supervision of Close. Some staff from the Administrators office will also be present to assist.

Overview Benefits to you Benefits to your clients Aascent Aadvantage Company Team Regions Princes Trust	Welcome to Aascent Aascent Finance Company Limited - In Administration Your brokerage currently holds an Agency Agreement with Aascent Finance Company Limited (Aascent). I am writing to advise you that Aascent has entered into Administration on 7 July 2008 and Daniel Smith and myself of Grant Thornton UK LLP have been appointed Joint Administrators. This will not effect existing loans on which you have received the premium and these loans will continue to operate as normal. The Agency remains valid and this letter will advise you how to proceed. To minimise any inconvenience to you and your clients, I have entered into an Agreement with Close Premium Finance (Close), a division of Close Brothers Limited, to act on behalf of the Administrators in both the run off of the existing client portfolio, and also to provide the opportunity of replacement funding for the business you have already submitted to Aascent but not yet been paid for (pipeline business), and any future business. Close will be in touch with you directly to advise on how funding of your recently submitted pipeline business and future loans is to be accommodated. As Joint Administrator I will be working on behalf of Aascent, alongside staff from both Aascent and Close to ensure that the existing portfolio of loans is run off smoothly. Can I stress that existing loans will continue to run their course, with client collections unaltered, and that you should take no action on any of these loans. Should any of these existing loans default or move on to be cancelled, we shall liaise with you on a loan by loan basis to ensure recovery of the outstanding balances. To try and answer what I expect will be some obvious questions brokers and clients may have, I attach a Question and Answer sheet to give some further information. If you still have unanswered questions, please continue to call the Aascent telephone numbers which will be manned by a combination of Aascent staff under the supervision of Close, who act on my behalf. Yours faithfully For and on behalf of Aascent Finance Company Limited Malcolm Shierson Joint Administrator Questions and Answers The following Questions and Answers are provided in an attempt to answer some of the questions that Brokers and Clients may have following Aascent Finance Company Limited being placed into Administration. Q Do I need to rearrange finance for my existing clients? A There are several parts to this answer; Client loans where you have already received the premium from Aascent - will not alter. Client collections will continue to be made exactly in accordance with the payment schedule they have already received, and provided there is no default on the loans there is no further action to take. Loans where the application is with Aascent but you have not yet received the premium - to ensure that an immediate solution is available for you and your clients details of these loans have been passed to Close Premium Finance (Close), along with collections already made by Aascent from the client. We have asked Close to fund these loans and they will be in touch with you in the next few days to confirm arrangements. Loans not yet submitted to Aascent and future renewals of Aascent clients - again we have asked Close to provide the opportunity of replacement funding to fund these so that an immediate solution is available to you and your clients. Q What if I don't have an Agency with Close? A Many Aascent brokers have an existing Agency with Close and that arrangement has been duplicated already by Close to provide a separate Agency for those brokers to process their Aascent business. Close will be in touch in the next few days to confirm the Agency detail and how to process future loans. For Brokers who do not have an existing agency with Close I have asked them to arrange immediate facilities. In most cases this has already been actioned by them as a replica of the Aascent agency, allowing swift processing of loans that are due now. Again, Close will be in touch with you shortly to confirm how this works. Q Is my Aascent Agency terminated? A No. The obligations contained within your Agency Agreement continue for all loans entered into prior to the date Aascent was placed into Administration. This includes actioning any requests from Aascent to cancel client policies after cancellation of a loan, and to pay across and return premiums. Aascent does not have the ability to fund any future loans, which is why we have asked Close to assist. Q What about funding mid term adjustments for existing Aascent loans? AWhilst Aascent is no longer in a position to fund any new loans, MTA's shall be services by Aascent on existing loans on a normal basis for the foreseeable future. Q Who should I speak to if I have a query on an existing Aascent loan? AThe existing phone lines at Aascent will continue and you should call them. They will be manned for the period of the portfolio run off by Aascent staff under supervision of Close. Some staff from the Administrators office will also be present to assist.