Baines and Ernst

Baines & Ernst

Type	Private Listed
Industry	Financial Services
Founded	December 1996 (December 1996)
Headquarters	Manchester, England
Key people	Andrew Wisedale, Joint MD Shaz Sulaman, Joint MD Robin Russel-Fisher Group Financial Director
Services	Debt management plans, Debt Relief Orders, Debt settlements, IVA, Bankruptcy and Trust Deed Advisory Services
Number of employees	252 (2014)
Website	www.bainesandernst.co.uk

Baines & Ernst is an English financial solutions company that is part of the Paymex Group. Established in Manchester in 1996 as a specialist debt management company, they provide services to help people get out of debt including Debt management plans, Debt Relief Orders and Debt settlements.

The company also offers an advisory service in Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Bankruptcy to people living in England and Wales, and Protected Trust Deeds to people living in Scotland.

Baines & Ernst was originally formed as a debt collection company with 50 staff members but quickly evolved into the debt management sector; offering debt advice and debt help to people who had fallen behind on repayments to creditors – the companies they owed money to. In 2009, the company was approved by the Secretary of State as a Competent Authority for Debt Relief Orders in the UK and Wales. The company was also approved to provide Debt Relief Orders to people living in Northern Ireland in 2011.

Baines & Ernst was the first company to be established from its parent company, the Paymex Group. The Paymex Group is a financial solutions company offering expertise in various debt solutions through its other companies. Baines & Ernst associated companies include Baker Evans for Bankruptcy and Baines & Ernst Corporate for business insolvency.

The company's Head Office is located in Manchester City Centre and employs 252 staff. {{asof| March 2014.

Baines & Ernst’s main service is the Debt Management Plan – also referred to as a DMP. A Debt Management Plan is a type of debt solution that enables people to repay their debts at a more manageable rate during times of financial hardship. Baines & Ernst acts as an intermediary between the debtor and the creditor. The company negotiates with the creditors involved to secure better repayment rates for the debtor and distributes payment to the creditors involved in the plan. Since the company began trading in 1996, they have helped over 170,000 people and have managed debts totalling £1 billion.