The firm, which lends in the sub-prime market, said it was "confident" of being able to raise the remaining £100 million needed for its 2008 funding targets.

The group last month said it was making a £200 million cash-call to shareholders to bolster its finances amid the crisis in credit markets.

It confirmed today it has also secured £200 million of the £300 million funding required this year from wholesale markets.

Cattles is also in the process of applying to become a bank and said today it hopes to raise £1 billion from savings deposits by 2010.

Cattles recently called off talks to buy a substantial consumer finance business, which would have included a banking licence.

But it is continuing with plans to become a bank and hopes the rights issue will support its application for a licence by boosting its capital base.

Cattles also gave an upbeat outlook on its current trading, with arrears levels being kept under control.

Cattles chief executive David Postings said: "Cattles has seen a strong start to the year. Trading conditions for our business have been favourable.

"The group is achieving higher margins on its new lending volumes and has tightened its lending criteria. Ongoing investment in systems and arrears management infrastructure has ensured arrears and the loan loss ratio have remained stable."

Cattles, which serves individuals who may not have access to mainstream lending, said the group's Welcome Finance division - its main operation representing more than 95% of the business - had continued to see strong revenue growth and "robust" credit quality in the first quarter of the year.

Business volumes for the Welcome Finance arm rose 18% year-on-year in the first three months of 2008, with customer numbers up 32,000 to 546,000.

Its Welcome Car Finance business saw a 28% rise in vehicle sales to 4,115, with average gross margin per vehicle up 14% to £2,800.
Cattles added that collection performance was ahead of plan at its debt recovery division, which trades as Lewis Group.

Cattles has been under pressure to secure funds, as has the wider lending market, with the credit squeeze crippling wholesale money markets.

The group unveiled its plans for a rights issue just a day after Royal Bank of Scotland announced a similar scheme to raise £12 billion from investors. And Halifax Bank of Scotland has also since followed suit with a £4 billion shareholder funding request.