Doorstep lender Provident Financial has axed 180 jobs after abandoning plans for a separate direct repayment loans business and to cut costs at its Bradford head office.

Provident has wound down its Real Personal Finance arm with the loss of 95 jobs and also culled its 900-strong headquarters staff by 85.

Real Personal Finance was launched in 2007 as a trial to offer unsecured loans repayable by direct debit.

A slump in demand last year meant that only one in 100 customers were signed up and leads from brokers were almost non-existent.

RPF lost £7.7m last year. Direct repayment lending will be focused on existing customers as a brand within the mainstream home credit business.

News of the cuts came as Provident Financial unveiled “solid” results for the year to December 31, 2009, during which it modestly increased profits for the third year running.

Provident maintained its tight underwriting policies to ensure the quality of its lending, and also kept the lid on costs. Profit before tax and exceptional costs rose by £1.3m to £130.1m, and after the cost element was 2.4 per cent lower at £125.7m. Revenues rose by 7.1 per cent at £1.14 billion.

Provident said demand for credit had been “tempered by increasingly cautious behaviour” and adverse weather at the end of last year – traditionally its peak lending season. Rising unemployment saw households become less inclined to take on debts, a trend which is likely to continue this year.

The Vanquis Bank credit card operation lifted pre-tax profits by 76.3 per cent to £14.1m.

Chief executive Peter Crook said 2009 had been a “steady as you go” year.

“I am pleased with the solid performance we delivered in 2009. We carefully positioned our businesses for turbulent market conditions well ahead of time and, as a result, we were able to maintain the flow of credit to our customers while keeping tight control over impairments and costs.

“Our funding position and balance sheet have recently been strengthened further, leaving us well placed to continue this approach and deliver good-quality growth in market conditions that are unlikely to improve this year.”

He said Provident’s new head office in the Southgate development at the junction of Thornton Road and Godwin Street should be ready this autumn.