Westlake Portfolio Management grew its servicing department by reaching agreements with two companies that specialize in the subprime auto space.

Last week, Westlake announced it formed a servicing partnership with Nicholas Financial, an auto and consumer finance company based in Clearwater, Fla.

As previously mentioned in a report from SubPrime Auto Finance News, Westlake also said last week that it has been selected by Car Capital, a finance company and a subsidiary of Car Capital Technologies based in Grapevine, Texas, as its primary servicer for its active portfolio.

Westlake said through a news release that it began providing servicing operations Dec. 1 for Nicholas Financial’s existing portfolio, which includes 24,000 active and charge-off contracts with a total principal balance of approximately $165 million.

WPM said it also will handle the servicing for Nicholas Financial’s new originations.

“We are extremely excited about our partnership with Nicholas Financial,” said Todd Laruffa, vice president of Westlake Portfolio Management. “Nicholas has an excellent reputation in the industry and a very experienced and talented management team.

“As their servicing partner, we can offer our scale and expertise which will allow Nicholas to optimize the productivity and performance,” Laruffa continued in a news release.

As part of Nicholas Financial’s ongoing restructuring plan, the goal of the partnership with WPM is to revamp its operational structure and alleviate additional expenditures by utilizing Westlake Portfolio Management’s technology, scale, and experience.

“When reaching this decision, Westlake was the clear choice to begin this business venture with, and we are looking forward to this future partnership,” Nicholas Financial CEO Mike Rost said in the news release. “We have no doubt that they will surpass our expectations while simultaneously helping to make this an easy transition toward the new direction our company is heading.”

Meanwhile, WPM also now is the primary servicer for Car Capital’s $105 million active portfolio.

“Through this partnership, we will be able to capitalize on Westlake’s scale, expertise, and efficiencies to help improve our loan performance, while still providing great customer service to all of our customers,” Car Capital co-founder and CEO Justin Tisler said in another news release.

In November, Car Capital shared details about its plan to pause originations and reduce its workforce.

The partnership with WPM provides Car Capital with the opportunity to utilize Westlake’s technology, thus rendering its underwriting and operations more effective.

Westlake Portfolio Management will assume all servicing related duties on both active and inactive contracts, which includes treasury services, custodial duties, title management, repossession, recovery, and remarketing.

“We look forward to offering Westlake’s technology and industry experience to lower costs and optimize productivity for Car Capital,” Laruffa said. “We are confident that this alliance will be beneficial to WPM, Car Capital and their customers.”

Westlake Portfolio Management is a servicing company with the infrastructure to provide third-party primary and backup servicing to medium- and large-scale portfolios.

Finance companies, credit unions, dealerships, and auto loan holders interested in learning more about WPM are invited to contact WPM directly at (877) 854-5688 or visit online at https://www.wpmservicing.com.