26 March 2024
Fintel plc
("Fintel", the
"Company", the "Group" or the "Business")
Strategic Investments to increase
Fintel's scale, IP and capabilities
Fintel (AIM: FNTL), a leading provider of
fintech and support services to the UK retail financial services
sector, today announces two important strategic
investments:
· New Distribution agreement
with Mortgage Brain together with a minority investment by Fintel
in Mortgage Brain, one of the leading providers of technology to
the mortgage industry
· Acquisition of 70% of
ifaDASH, a reg-tech solution that assists intermediaries with
running an efficient, compliant business
· Both transactions are in line
with Fintel's strategy, which balances growth across our core
activities, organic investment and complementary M&A, and are
financed from Fintel's existing financial resources
· Both investments increase
Fintel's scale, IP and capabilities, capitalising on favourable
market conditions for M&A
Mortgage Brain
distribution agreement and minority investment
Fintel and Mortgage Brain, a leading technology
provider to the mortgage industry, have today announced a new
distribution agreement and an investment by Fintel of £1.5m (the
"Fintel Investment") in return for 5.8% of the current issued share
capital of Mortgage Brain Holdings
Limited ("Mortgage Brain") at the time of the
investment. The Fintel Investment for newly issued shares in
Mortgage Brain will allow Mortgage Brain to continue investment in
its technology platform and enhance its service to lenders and
intermediaries.
With a history spanning over 35 years, Mortgage
Brain has a strong reputation as one of the leading providers of
technology to the mortgage industry. It serves over 15,000
intermediaries with a suite of software sourcing solutions,
submissions and CRM.
Under the new agreement, Mortgage Brain's CRM,
sourcing and submission software will be made available to Fintel's
wide network of advisers via its Intermediary Services division,
helping them to efficiently source and place the best mortgage
products for their clients.
In consideration of the Fintel Investment, the
arrangements also include a separate agreement between Fintel and
Mortgage Brain's shareholders that defines the basis for Fintel to
potentially acquire their current issued shares in Mortgage Brain.
If such an acquisition of shares proceeds, the valuation
attributable to the Mortgage Brain shares would be determined at
that time by reference to Mortgage Brain's financial performance
and other factors over the next two financial years.
For the year ended 31 March 2023 Mortgage Brain
had revenues of £13.2m and reported an EBITDA loss of
£1.96m.
Acquisition of
ifaDASH
Fintel also announced the completion of its
acquisition of ifaDASH, a reg-tech solution that assists
intermediaries with running an efficient, compliant business. The
acquisition was made through Fintel IQ, complementing its existing
CRM software.
Through the transaction, Fintel has taken an
initial 70% stake in ifaDASH, for an upfront cash consideration of
£0.5m, with up to £1.0m of contingent cash consideration based on
certain revenue and profitability targets being achieved in the
next 12 months.
Fintel also has the option to purchase the
remaining 30% equity in the business over the next two years for an
agreed multiple of EBITDA.
The acquisition follows the Group's investment
in CRM entrant Plannr, giving it access to the leading strategic
CRM platform for small to medium-sized intermediaries.
Neil Stevens,
Joint CEO of Fintel plc, said:
"Our new distribution agreement with Mortgage
Brain will enable our members to access their leading mortgage
sourcing and submission software as part of our integrated
platform.
"Our investment provides a significant cash
injection to accelerate Mortgage Brain's product transformation,
enhancing its solutions and providing even greater efficiency to
its customers, including Fintel's extensive membership
base.
"We are also delighted to acquire ifaDASH
today, as we seek to continue to enhance our CRM capabilities. CRM
is critical to our wide network of intermediaries as it improves
their efficiency and reduces the regulatory burden, allowing them
to focus on generating better outcomes for their
clients."
For further
information please contact:
Fintel
plc
Matt Timmins (Joint Chief Executive
Officer)
Neil Stevens (Joint Chief Executive
Officer)
David Thompson (Chief Financial
Officer)
|
via MHP Group
|
Zeus
(Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)
Martin Green
Dan Bate
|
+44 (0) 20 3829 5000
|
Investec Bank
(Joint Broker)
Bruce Garrow
David Anderson
Harry Hargreaves
|
+44 (0) 20 7597 5970
|
MHP Group
(Financial PR)
Reg Hoare
Robert Collett-Creedy
|
+44 (0) 7736 464749
Fintel@mhpgroup.com
|
Notes to
Editors
Fintel is the UK's leading fintech and support
services business, combining the largest provider of intermediary
business support, SimplyBiz, and the leading research, ratings and
Fintech business, Defaqto.
Fintel provides technology, compliance and
regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses, data
and targeted distribution services to hundreds of product providers
and empowers millions of consumers to make better informed
financial decisions. We serve our customers through three core
divisions:
The Intermediary Services division provides
technology, compliance, and regulatory support to thousands of
intermediary businesses through a comprehensive membership model.
Members include directly authorised IFAs, Wealth Managers and
Mortgage Brokers.
The Distribution Channels division delivers
market Insight and analysis and targeted distribution strategies to
financial institutions and product providers. Clients include major
Life and Pension companies, Investment Houses, Banks, and Building
Societies.
The Fintech and Research division (Defaqto)
provides market leading software, financial information and product
research to product providers and intermediaries. Defaqto also
provides product ratings (Star Ratings) on thousands of financial
products. Financial products are expertly reviewed by the Defaqto
research team and are compared and rated based on their underlying
features and benefits. Defaqto ratings help consumers compare and
buy financial products with confidence.
For more information about Fintel, please visit
the website: www.wearefintel.com