Love's Acquisitions Expand Its Factoring Business

Love's factoring business just got much larger, and the paychecks for some of its workers this month will be bigger too. 

The company known mostly for its travel centers also has a factoring business, and it announced the first two acquisitions in its history on Wednesday, July 1. Love's Financial, as the factoring arm is known, acquired Vero Business Capital of Memphis and Foley Business Capital of Omaha.

Vero acquired Foley less than a year ago. Southworth Capital Management, also in Memphis and which describes itself as a "family office," owned 100% of Vero and by extension Foley.

"This is our first acquisition in the factoring space," a Love's spokeswoman said in an email to FreightWaves. "We will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities in the freight factoring space when they align with our overall growth plans for Love's Financial."

She described both companies as "national in scope."

In its release, Love's touted some of the features of Love's Financial that can now be accessed by factoring clients of Vero and Foley. They include fuel discounts, tires and maintenance and no-fee credits lines with a Love's Express Card.

In the Love's prepared release, president Shane Wharton said the acquisitions "aligns with our strategic vision of growing our financial services business."

Meanwhile, Love's, which was one of the first companies in the supply chain to give its employees what amounted to battle pay in the first days of the pandemic, is extending it another month. 

The spokeswoman confirmed social media posts that said Love's will give its full-time employees who work 120 hours in July a $300 bonus. Part-timers with 80 hours during the month will receive $150. The date for making those milestones runs through July 28.

Additionally, Love's will continue its practice of paying sick pay to employees who are "impacted" by COVID-19. The pay covers 14 days and runs through July 31. 

"Our employees have shown true dedication to getting our customers back on the road quickly and safely during the pandemic and we want to reward their hard work," the spokeswoman said.

For more stories by John Kingston, please go here.

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