Bailiff To Recover Big Windfall From Auction

A firm of bailiffs which recovers unpaid debts on behalf of the British taxman is eyeing a bumper windfall as it prepares to be sold by its private equity owners.

Sky News has learnt that Inflexion has appointed advisers from the professional services firm Deloitte to oversee a sale of Marston that is expected to kick off in the coming months.

The price tag that will be attached to Marston was unclear on Thursday, although sources said it was likely to be at a substantial premium to the value attached to the company when Inflexion invested in it in 2012.

Marston describes itself as the UK's largest judicial services group, employing 1,200 staff and self-employed agents, who recover £200m each year on behalf of magistrates' courts, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and local government through the recovery of unpaid Council Tax and road traffic debts.

The company was previously owned by another private equity group, Gresham.

Marston says that it acts "on behalf of taxpayers to recover outstanding criminal fines, child support arrears, council tax, congestion charges, and bus lane contraventions. We also recover unpaid Employment Tribunal Awards due to employees and unpaid invoices due to small businesses."

The frequently contentious nature of its business may provoke some controversy about the size of the windfall that could be made by Inflexion and some of Marston's top executives.

The company, which was unavailable for comment on the sale process, insists that "maintaining the highest professional standards of service that demonstrate our commitment to ethics, transparency and customer service excellence is a vital part of our success".

Inflexion, which is in talks to buy the Yo! Sushi chain and owns businesses such as Jack Wills, the fashion retailer, declined to comment on the appointment of Deloitte.