Accuma Group Plc, the AIM quoted debt solution provider, announced today that it will take a £6.58 million write down on its debt management arm, Byrom Keeley. Accuma acquired Byrom Keeley in 2006 in a transaction worth up to £15 million.

In a deal that was announced a couple of weeks ago, Accuma will sell its IVA book to Grant Thornton, which will leave debt management as the groups core business. Another Accuma subsidiary, Thomas Charles & Co ceased trading earlier this year according to the trading statement that was issued today. Thomas Charles & Co specialised in the provision of IVA advice and the arrangement of IVAs.

There has been a significant decline in the number of new debt management cases arranged by the group, which has been blamed on the reduction in advertising by the IVA division. The number of new plans arranged by Byrom Keeley slumped to 181 for the later half of last year – down from 301 for the first six months.

All of this adds up to a massive reduction in the goodwill value of its Byrom Keeley subsidiary, which the group now puts at £3.5 million.

It wasn’t all bad news though, with the Accuma board saying that it was confident about the future of the debt management arm. They added that they have made deals for the “supply of clients on a contingency basis” which they believe will result in more debt management sign ups. They went on to say that the economic situation was favourable for the debt solution industry.

They may be right. The current recession is likely to last longer, and hit harder, than was first thought, and the number of UK consumers that require debt advice, or a managed programme is likely to increase in the coming months.