Encore Capital Group Expands Credit Facility With J.P. Morgan Chase to $200 Million

SAN DIEGO, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG), a leading accounts receivable management firm, today announced that it has finalized an amendment to its revolving credit facility with J.P. Morgan Chase that expands the size of the facility to $200 million, with an accordion feature that provides for an additional $25 million in availability. The amendment also reduces the interest rate margins applicable to borrowings and contains other covenant changes favorable to the company.

"We received an overwhelming response during the syndication process, which allowed us to increase the size beyond our initial expectations and negotiate more favorable terms," said Carl C. Gregory, III, Vice Chairman and CEO of Encore Capital Group. "The larger facility will provide Encore with the capital to take advantage of new growth opportunities as we find them."

The Company's new $200 million syndicated, three-year revolving credit facility can be utilized for the purposes of purchasing portfolios of receivables, financing acquisitions and working capital.

About Encore Capital Group, Inc.

Encore Capital Group, Inc. is a systems-driven purchaser and manager of charged-off consumer receivables portfolios. More information on the company can be found at www.encorecapitalgroup.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including, most importantly, those statements preceded by, or that include, the words "may," "believes," "projects," "expects," "anticipates" or the negation thereof, or similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). These statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning plans for future acquisitions, operations, products or services and financing needs or plans, as well as assumptions relating to those matters. For all "forward-looking statements," the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company and our subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the Company's results and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include: the Company's ability to purchase receivables portfolios on acceptable terms and in sufficient quantities; the Company's ability to acquire and collect on portfolios consisting of new types of receivables; the Company's ability to recover sufficient amounts on or with respect to receivables to fund operations; the Company's ability to successfully execute acquisitions; the Company's compliance with the restrictive covenants under its $200 million senior credit facility, including limitations that the financial ratios may impose on its ability to acquire receivables portfolios or consummate acquisitions in the future; the Company's continued servicing of receivables in its third party financing transactions; the Company's ability to hire and retain qualified personnel to recover on its receivables efficiently; changes in, or failure to comply with, government regulations; the costs, uncertainties and other effects of legal and administrative proceedings; and risk factors and cautionary statements made in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as of and for the year ended December 31, 2004. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. They are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which the Company cannot predict or quantify. Future events and actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The Company will not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, whether as the result of new information, future events or for any other reason. In addition, it is the Company's policy generally not to make any specific projections as to future earnings, and the Company does not endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by third parties.

SOURCE Encore Capital Group, Inc.
07/29/2005
CONTACT: Shareholders/Analysts, Carl C. Gregory, III, +1-858-309-6961
carl.gregory@encorecapitalgroup.comor,
or J. Brandon Black, +1-858-309-6963
brandon.black@encorecapitalgroup.com, both of Encore Capital Group, Inc.;
or Press, Tony Rossi, Investor Relations of Financial Relations Board,
+1-310-854-8317, trossi@financialrelationsboard.com, for Encore Capital Group, Inc.
Web site: http://www.encorecapitalgroup.com