HIG Europe, the European arm of US private equity firm HIG Capital, has appointed investment bank William Blair to explore options to sell its stake in pan-European consumer loan broker Zmarta Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

A dual-track process is being run on the business and first-round bids have been received from several local and international private equity firms and trade buyers, one of the people said. The same person said that an initial public offering was also being considered as a possible exit strategy.