GuardRec

What GuardRec does

GuardRec (legal entity: Guardian Recovery Ltd, England registration #6637708) is a UK-based debt collection agency operating from a single registered office in Preston, Lancashire. Founded in 2006, the firm provides contingency-based recovery services for overdue invoices, bounced cheques, rent arrears, and other written-off debts owed to UK businesses. Its service portfolio bundles debtor tracing, credit checking on existing and potential clients, and the obtaining and enforcement of County Court Judgments (CCJs).

The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: the company does not disclose proprietary technology, instead delivering service through a web intake form (capturing debtor count and debt value), phone-based sales and customer service, and a real-time Client Portal (portal.guardrec.co.uk) that gives creditors 24/7 visibility into recovery progress. Online payments by debtors are processed via PayPal using "GR"-prefixed reference numbers. No mobile app, API, SDK, or MCP integration is offered, and no AI/ML capability is referenced.

The business model is contingency-fee ("Pay-per-Debt") with no upfront cost to the client and a 110% money-back guarantee on qualifying "good debts" as defined in the Client Terms. Go-to-market is sales-led and organic: inbound forms, a prominent UK phone number (0330 111 9013), and SEO-oriented website content targeted at debt-collection search queries. There is no evidence of paid advertising, social media presence, partnerships, or reseller channels. The company operates with 1-10 employees, is privately held with no disclosed investors or parent company, and confines its service area to England.

Name

GuardRec

Legal name

Guardian Recovery Ltd

Website

https://guardrec.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GuardRec is a Preston, UK-based debt collection agency (Guardian Recovery Ltd) that recovers overdue invoices, bounced cheques, and rent arrears for UK businesses on a contingency-fee basis under a 110% money-back guarantee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Debt Collection Services

NAICS

Collection Agencies (56144), Collection Agencies (561440)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Third-Party Debt Collection Agencies (Consumer & Commercial) (BPAAAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Collections & Litigation Support (Judgments, Garnishments) (FSAKAJAD), Legal Collections Support (Pre-Lit, Litigation Admin, Judgment Recovery) (BPAAAEAH)

Keywords

• Debt collection services
• Commercial debt recovery
• Debtor tracing services
• County court judgment enforcement
• Credit checking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Debt Collection Services: Contingency-based debt recovery where fees are earned upon successful collection. The company offers a 110% money-back guarantee on qualifying debts (defined as 'good debts' under their Client Terms & Conditions).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GuardRec (Guardian Recovery Ltd) provides professional debt recovery and collection services for UK businesses, recovering overdue invoices, bounced cheques, rent arrears and other written-off bad debts. The bundled service includes tracing absconded debtors, credit checking of existing and potential clients, and obtaining and enforcing County Court Judgments (CCJs). It is delivered under a guaranteed Service Level Agreement with a 110% money-back guarantee on qualifying "good debts," and clients can monitor collection progress in real time via a dedicated online Client Portal.

Product overview

GuardRec (Guardian Recovery Ltd) is a professional debt collection service provider offering a unified debt recovery platform. The core offering is debt collection services for overdue invoices, bounced cheques, rent arrears, and other bad debts, backed by a guaranteed Service Level Agreement and a 110% money-back guarantee on qualifying debts. The service portfolio includes debtor tracing, CCJ (County Court Judgment) obtaining and enforcement, and credit checking for existing and potential clients. Clients access real-time account monitoring through a dedicated Client Portal. The company operates a Pay-per-Debt pricing model with a Fair Usage Policy. PayPal integration is available for payment processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Debt Collection Services Fully-inclusive professional debt recovery and collection service for UK businesses covering overdue invoices, bounced cheques, rent arrears and other bad debts, delivered under a guaranteed Service Level Agreement with a 110% money-back guarantee on qualifying 'good' debts.
• Debtor Tracing Standalone tracing service to locate debtors who have absconded or become hard to reach in order to pursue outstanding debts on behalf of the creditor.
• CCJ Services (County Court Judgment obtaining and enforcement) Service to obtain County Court Judgments against non-paying debtors and enforce those judgments on behalf of UK creditors as part of the debt recovery workflow.
• Credit Checking Credit checking of both existing clients and prospective new clients to assess creditworthiness and inform credit and recovery decisions for UK businesses.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Recent moves1 record

Direct peers

• Frontline Collections: UK debt collection agency providing commercial and consumer recovery with phone, letter, and legal escalation. Comparable to GuardRec in target customer (UK SMBs), service scope, and contingency pricing model.
• Cabot Credit Management: UK-focused debt purchaser and collection agency operating across consumer and commercial portfolios. Comparable to GuardRec on target market (UK creditors) and core service mix (collections, tracing, litigation support), but at substantially greater scale.
• Moorcroft Debt Recovery: UK-based debt recovery and enforcement agency serving commercial creditors with tracing and legal action. Directly comparable to GuardRec in customer profile (UK SMBs with overdue invoices) and service mix (tracing, CCJ/legal enforcement).
• Lowell Group: One of the largest UK debt collection and purchase groups, recovering consumer and commercial debts via phone, digital channels, and legal enforcement. Directly comparable to GuardRec on service scope and customer base, though materially larger and more capitalised.

Others

• Creditsafe: Major UK and global business credit-reporting and credit-checking provider. Comparable to GuardRec only on the credit-checking add-on module rather than core collections; operates as a data/enabling vendor to UK creditors and agencies.

Broad incumbents

• Atradius Collections: International B2B debt collection arm of Atradius, with a dedicated UK presence pursuing overdue invoices. Comparable to GuardRec on the commercial invoice-recovery use case, but operates globally and as part of a broader trade-credit-insurance group.
• Euler Hermes Collections: Worldwide debt collection network operated by Allianz Trade, with UK B2B invoice recovery capability. Comparable to GuardRec's commercial debt recovery focus, but as part of a large international credit-insurance and collections group rather than a domestic agency.
• PRA Group: Global, publicly listed debt purchaser and collector with significant UK operations. Operates broadly in the same collections space as GuardRec but as a large multi-jurisdictional portfolio acquirer rather than a UK SMB-focused contingency agency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/guardian-recovery-ltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GuardRec