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February 17, 2020

Handelsbanken retains top spot

Local relationship bank, Handelsbanken, has retained its top-ranking position in four of the five categories identified by the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) independent service quality survey for business banking, for the fourth time today.

Built on sustainable values and a purpose beyond profitability, Handelsbanken places a predominant focus on customer satisfaction, providing high levels of bespoke customer service through the long-term personal relationships the Bank forms with its customers.

Handelsbanken’s unique approach has led to Handelsbanken once again being named best for overall service quality (82%); relationship / account management (86%); SME overdraft and loan services (80%); and services in branches and business centres (76%) by the survey.

Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO, says: “We are delighted to have retained our top position in the CMA’s fourth independent service quality service for business banking and, as ever, would like to thank our business customers for such positive feedback.

“For us at Handelsbanken, customer satisfaction sits at the front and centre of everything we do so there really is no greater compliment than to see this recognised.

“Handelsbanken is a bank built on sustainable values, including always taking a long-term view, being cost-conscious and having a fundamental trust and belief in human nature.

“We value the high level of trust our customers have in us and we look forward to continuing to provide our distinctive banking services, through the lasting relationships we form with our customers, both now and in the future.”

With over 200 Handelsbanken branches across the UK, the Bank’s customers enjoy direct access to experienced teams who are empowered to make decisions locally. Handelsbanken does not have any product or sales targets, helping to ensure customers’ best interests remain central to decision-making processes.

Its approach has led to Handelsbanken receiving the highest rating for customer satisfaction for the eleventh year running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers.
The CMA’s ongoing independent service quality survey, most recently conducted from January 2019 to December 2019, is intended to help customers compare the quality of service offered by Britain’s 14 largest business current account providers. The survey looks at customers’ willingness to recommend a financial provider to other businesses based on factors such as their overall service quality and their online, mobile, lending and branch services.

All banks participating in the CMA’s independent service quality survey will be required to display the latest results in their branches and on their websites from today onwards. The survey will be ongoing and the results will be updated every six months, in August and February.

The survey will interview approximately 1,200 customers per provider across Great Britain each year. Results will only be published where at least 100 customers have provided a score for a service in the survey period.

February 17, 2020

UK peer-to-peer lender Propifi unveils launch

UK peer-to-peer lending platform Propifi, has unveiled the launch of a new Innovative Finance ISA eligible investment opportunity, which enables retail P2P investors to benefit from targeted quarterly returns.

An easy to use peer-to-peer (P2P) commercial lending platform, Propifi was established in April 2018, with a clear ambition to cater for the growth in the UK bridging finance industry, while satisfying the increasing appetite for P2P property finance. Its initial growth was supported by a successful crowdfunding raise, oversubscribed at 155%.

This is the first investment opportunity launched by Propifi through its P2P platform that is eligible for IFISA investment, enabling individuals to place a minimum investment of £1,000.

Euan McAlpine, chairman of Propifi and a veteran of the property development industry, explained: “Propifi has been developed by a leading team of experts in property development, finance and technology, to create a unique peer-to-peer lending platform that could quickly dominate the UK market.”

“In being eligible for IFISA investment, Propifi’s targeted interest P2P investment products provides retail investors with a viable opportunity to take advantage of the capped £20,000 tax-free IFISA allowance, whilst enabling them to benefit from healthy, projected returns of up to 8% fixed returns paid quarterly”

(Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and is subject to change)

Propifi currently offers both high-net-worth and restricted investors with competitive P2P investment opportunities, whilst continuing to accept applications for bridging loans from borrowers between £100,000 to £2.5m.

Mr McAlpine continued: “Our IFISA campaign will provide Propifi investors with the opportunity to enter into and support the bridging finance industry and enable us to continue issuing valuable P2P investment opportunities to both restricted and high-net-worth investors across the UK.”

February 17, 2020

Robocash Group served 9 million customers and granted over $600m loans

According to the results in 2019, the cumulative volume of consumer financing granted by the financial holding Robocash Group since its inception in 2013 exceeded $603m. The total number of customers reached 9 million. Remarkably, one-third of 4.2 million of new clients that the company served in 2019 alone came from South and Southeast Asia. That was a 267% increase compared to 2018.

Targeting the underserved segment lacking access to traditional financial services, Robocash Group served 4.2 million of new customers in 2019, by 106% more than a year before. Almost one-third of that number, i.e. 1.2 million, belongs to the Asian region that the company has focused on since 2017. Moreover, that was a 267% increase year-over-year. Substantial contribution in this regard was made by the Indian market where the group started activities at the end of January 2019. In a year, the company served more than 300 thousand Indians. This number made up 25.7% of the mentioned customer base in Asia in 2019. The Philippines took first place with 46.4%. Vietnam was third (14.6%) followed by Indonesia (13.2%).

At the same time, despite such extensive growth, the company observed high customer retention. In 2019, almost every other client (53.6%) used the services of the group more than once. What is more, 17.8% applied and got financing three times, 31.8% – four or more times.

With the growing demand for the services, there also was a significant increase in the number of granted advances. As of December 31, 2019, the cumulative amount of consumer loans provided by companies of Robocash Group since 2013 hit 7.3 million. In 2019 alone, 3.3 million loans were issued, it made up a 45% increase year-over-year.

The cumulative volume of financing provided by companies of the group as of December 31, 2019, exceeded $600m. With an increase of 70% year-over-year, the volume in 2019 amounted to $307m.

Commenting on the results, Sergey Sedov, founder & CEO of Robocash Group said: “Alternative lending has rapidly developed in the past years. In particular, it applies to emerging markets such as South and Southeast Asia. Placing financial inclusion on a daily agenda has helped countries promote innovations in the region and see the first results. Still, many more should be done, as the gap remains enormous. In this sense, our figures at Robocash Group have only confirmed that. This year, we will continue expanding our activities to provide access to instant financing solutions to a broader range of customers.”

February 14, 2020

SMEs more likely to predict sales growth than cost cutting

With 2019 being characterised by market uncertainty and static growth forecasts, it appears that small business leaders are starting the New Year with a different set of priorities. Over a third say they are looking to improve sales (38%) – but those looking to cut back on costs have significantly dropped from 35% to 20%.

The latest figures from Hitachi Capital Business Finance give a first indication that small businesses are starting 2020 with an expansionist mindset. The nationally representative poll of 1,196 business owners suggests there are three key factors powering the small business community’s ambitions for increased revenues and growth.

Diversification and innovation
Supporting a focus on sales growth, around one in four (24%) of business owners are keen to diversify their business in 2020, launching new services and products. To prepare for sales growth, 16% of small businesses plan to do more marketing in 2020 to raise brand awareness, with online advertising seen to be a key channel for reaching new customers. Further, 11% of business owners plan to invest more money to improve the digital capabilities of their business – this coming at a time when 10% say they want to expand into new geographical markets during the year ahead.

Investing in people
Talent management is high on the priority list for small business owners in 2020 – and the focus is to develop talent organically rather than to buy it in. While 6% of small businesses plan to hire senior people, 15% are placing greater emphasis on developing the skills of the staff they already have – with 10% of business owners saying they will invest more money in staff training and e-learning. When it comes to increasing headcount, small businesses are more likely to hire young people that they can train and develop over time (11%).

Prudent financial planning
After a year of unprecedented political and economic uncertainty, small businesses show signs of embracing the unknown and are factoring this into their financial planning for 2020. Overall, 15% of respondents say they are doing more forward-planning with their budgets, 11% are putting in place more far-ranging contingency plans to anticipate market uncertainty – with 5% building greater flexibility into their year-ahead forecasts to allow for greater seasonality. Overall, financial strength is a key issue for one in five businesses (21%) who say they are doing more to build up their financial reserves for the year ahead. Also, 10% of business owners are looking to make back-office efficiencies – this at a time when broadly the same proportion of businesses are investing more in online sales and marketing.

Looking at the findings by industry sector, manufacturing emerges as the sector where small businesses are most likely to predict sales growth (54%), whereas those enterprises in the retail sector are most likely to recognise the need to diversify their business – to broaden their product range and services (36%) in order to compete in a faster-placed, digitised landscape.

Gavin Wraith-Carter, managing director at Hitachi Capital Business Finance said: “Last year small businesses had to adapt to a period of protracted Brexit uncertainty and the economic ripple it delivered to sectors across the UK. We start 2020 with far greater certainty and our research suggests small businesses have switched from staying afloat through cost-cutting to a new era of planning for sales growth, investing in people and product diversification to boost bottom-line growth. While 10% of business leaders are investing in training, the remaining 90% should be giving this serious thought, and what options that are available to businesses.

“Our research also suggests that more small business owners recognise the need to adopt flexibility in their budgeting, whilst safeguarding their financial strength by building up their financial reserves. These factors point towards 2020 being a year when more small businesses will be looking for finance to help to realise their growth ambitions. We would encourage business owners to shop around, to look beyond the high street lenders and talk to specialists that can offer flexible solutions that are tailored to the needs of their business.”

February 14, 2020

Monese announces next step in global expansion

Monese has announced the next step in its global expansion with the launch of Romanian currency accounts. The new RON account from Monese comes with a Romanian IBAN and Romanian language customer support, a first for a global fintech servicing customers in Romania.

With Monese, customers can open multicurrency accounts within minutes. Using their existing GBP or EUR account, customers can now create a RON account. Or customers can create a RON account and add EUR and GBP. Customers can make free and instant international transfers between Monese customers and their RON, GBP and EUR accounts; receive salaries; as well as make fast, secure local payments in RON, at no extra cost. Romanian citizens anywhere will be able to use their Monese RON card with Apple Pay, globally, wherever Apple Pay is accepted.

Romanian IBANs are provided by Libra Internet Bank, a key partner in the launch of Monese RON accounts. The Romanian IBAN is a huge benefit to customers in Romania. Users in Romania will be able to receive their salary, handle domestic payments, and make safe online purchases in the local currency. Monese’s RON account is an ideal choice for Romanians, international students, workers, travelers or retirees.

Monese accounts are available in three pricing plans, with tailored, fee-free, allowances for global ATM withdrawals and foreign currency spending – ideal for customers who love to travel and those who love contactless payments and Apple Pay. All accounts also come with a contactless Mastercard debit card in Monese’s vertical design.

Norris Koppel, founder and CEO of Monese, said: “We’re very excited to be launching Romanian accounts today, bringing our ambition to become a truly global banking service one step closer. Unlike many of our peers, Monese customers are using as a primary banking account, with 70% of incoming funds being salary payments. This new currency provision will enable customers to have a primary account in more countries, transfer money simply and securely, providing a truly localized banking experience, wherever they’re based. “

All Monese RON accounts provide customers with Romanian IBANs, along with:

Contactless Mastercard debit card (RON 19.95 standard delivery fee on the Simple Plan, or free delivery of the first card on the Classic plan and free delivery for any card on the Premium Plan)

  • Free and instant transfers between RON, EUR or GBP accounts
  • Free and instant transfers between Monese accounts globally (in any currency)
  • Free and instant debit card top-ups (in any currency)
  • Fee-free global ATM withdrawals (RON 1,000/month fee-free allowance on Monese’s Simple plan, as minimum)
  • Fee-free global foreign currency card allowance (RON 10,000/month fee-free allowance on Monese’s Simple plan, as minimum)
  • The Monese apps and the Customer Support team are accessible in 14 languages, including Romanian
  • Apple Pay
  • Recurring payments
  • The ability to lock and unlock cards from within the Monese app
  • Instant mobile notifications when spending or receiving money
  • On-demand statements that can be easily exported
  • Monese Pots for setting savings aside

Over 2 million people have signed up to Monese, with customer growth more than tripling in year to date, 100,000 – 200,000 people are now joining Monese every month. Unlike many of its peers, customers are also using Monese as a primary banking account, with 70% of incoming funds being salary payments.

February 13, 2020

PPS approved to become Visa issuer and processor

PPS, formerly PrePay Solutions, and subsidiary of Edenred, the everyday companion for people at work, has today been approved to become an issuer and processor of Visa.

Through the partnership, PPS will be able to offer its customers, including fintech providers and challenger banks, full access to Visa’s products, including issuing Visa branded cards. Incorporating Visa’s product range into PPS’ award-winning payment platform further enhances its ability to power fintechs and in general, financial institutions who wish to partner with Visa. Following the certification, PPS’ innovative processing platform will facilitate issuer and programme manager integrations with Visa across Europe.

Ray Brash, CEO and chairman of PPS, said: “The digital payments market is growing exponentially, and Visa is investing heavily in the fintech sector. PPS is already a leader in providing a full Bank out of a Box service with issuing, card and bank processing and core banking services all from one provider both in the UK and in the EU. That’s why we’re delighted to start our collaboration which will offer more choice to the market and look forward to becoming a fully certified Visa issuer and processor in the coming months.”

The news comes just after PPS’ rebrand, marking the company’s shift from supporting not just prepaid solutions but also to working with the broader fintech market.

February 13, 2020

Praetura Ventures raises £22m in under 12 months


Praetura Ventures, the Manchester-based investor that backs early-stage businesses in high-value sectors, has successfully closed its second EIS fund at £7m in a move that brings the total raised by the firm to £22m in less than 12 months.

The £7m Praetura EIS 2020 Fund will enable the firm to continue to support the growth ambitions of high-quality scale-up businesses across the region and will now be deployed alongside the strategic support and guidance of the 25-strong team at Praetura Ventures.

They will work closely with the management teams backed by the fund to implement growth strategies and drive scale post-investment, and the fund is expected to be deployed by the end of March 2020.

It follows the firm’s record-breaking £15m Praetura EIS 2019 Fund, which closed in May 2019 and was deployed in just seven months following investments in businesses such as SteamaCo, a Manchester-based technology supplier to energy providers in Asia and Africa; FeedStock, an AI-driven SaaS business; and Patchwork, a rapidly growing healthtech start-up on a mission to solve the NHS staffing crisis.

David Foreman, managing director at Praetura Ventures, said: “The response that investors have shown to Praetura Ventures since we announced our maiden EIS fund less than 12 months ago has been phenomenal. To have raised £22m is testament to the quality of the team we have built and the size of the opportunity that lies ahead.

“This latest fundraise demonstrates the high demand for genuine venture capital, particularly when it comes to northern businesses. Since launching Praetura Ventures last year, we have seen more than 1,000 opportunities and received more than £1bn in funding requests from early-stage companies, so we know the demand is there. Our focus on providing more than money to the businesses we back is something that resonates with investors and we are very grateful for their continued support.”

The Praetura EIS 2020 Fund is expected to provide returns to investors approximately four to seven years after its close and the Praetura Ventures team has already identified a number of early-stage businesses that are seeking growth capital and the strategic support of an investment partner across sectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence and healthtech.

In addition to this support, portfolio firms are also provided with access to Praetura Ventures’ network, experience and resources.

Jon Prescott, business development director at Praetura Ventures, added: “The interest and support we’ve had from financial advisers during 2019 has been fantastic and having developed our proposition with the intermediary market at the forefront of our thinking, we’re pleased to see advisory firms recognising this.

“The diversity of our portfolio, our speed of deployment and our northern focus have all been well received by investors and their advisers. The progress we’ve made since launching our first fund last year has been brilliant and we look forward to sharing news of further investments, as well as details about our next fund, very soon.”

In addition to the fund close, and in response to the growth of the Praetura Ventures portfolio, the firm has also announced the appointment of Andy Sumner as portfolio managing director. Andy brings more than 20 years’ experience of supporting high-growth businesses and will work closely alongside portfolio managing director Ben Hatton to support the businesses backed by Praetura Ventures.

Praetura was the first to invest in AI and machine learning business, Peak, in 2016, and was also the first to back rapidly-growing SaaS delivery management platform, Sorted Group. Praetura most recently participated in Sorted Group’s £15m investment round led by Merian Chrysalis Investment Company in August 2019, making it one of the North West’s fastest growing tech companies.

February 13, 2020

Hotel investment in Spain in 2019 reached 2.4bn euros

International hotel property advisor, Christie & Co, has published its new hotel investment overview for 2019, which highlights the limited offer in hotel portfolios, as well as substantial changes in both the origin of the capital invested and the typology of the assets. Investment in resort destinations has stabilized, with a significant increase in interest in urban destinations.

According to Christie & Co, the total hotel investment figure in Spain in 2019 was 2.4bn euros, almost half of the investment volume of 2018, with a total of 114 transacted assets (compared to the 223 registered in 2018). This decrease in transactional activity is explained, among other reasons, by the comparative effect of the purchase of Hispania by Blackstone in 2018 (1.9bn euros).

Despite the decrease in the investment volume, the average price per transacted room increased again in 2019, reaching 142,000 euros (vs. 128,000 euros in 2018), as a result of the high liquidity available in the market, the strong investment demand, the positive evolution of the main hotel KPIs and the continued compression of the yields.

The resort sector was the most affected, registering a total investment volume of 41%, a significant change from the previous year (64%). The main reasons for the decrease were; the recovery of the sector in the North of Africa and other Mediterranean countries, the evolution of Brexit, Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy, the crisis of some airlines and the absence of large portfolio transactions. Meanwhile, urban destinations went from representing 36% of the total volume in 2018 to 59% in 2019, favoured by the increase in interest in core assets.

Unlike in 2018, the origin of the capital was mainly national, representing 63% of the total investment volume (vs. 35% in 2018), followed by UK (11%) and France (10%). Investment firms once again represented the primary source of capital in 2019, with 37% of the total, followed by hotel groups (32%) and REITS (19%). The report also includes an analysis of the hotel investment cycle from 2006 to 2019, differentiating between the different periods and their main challenges.

Christie & Co concludes its study by analysing the current macroeconomic landscape, the operational expectations of the sector and the investment outlook for the next few years with the expectation of future consolidation of the hotel market and a stabilisation of investment levels.

Inmaculada Ranera, managing director at Christie & Co in Spain and Portugal, comments, “Hotels are no longer considered an alternative option in the real estate investment sector, and have become assets with attractive returns. The key players in this market have become more professional, which has led to an increase of the capital invested in the sector, both in urban and resort hotels.”

February 13, 2020

Nucleus enhances cashflow finance product

Nucleus Commercial Finance has today announced enhancements to its cashflow finance product, responding to feedback from brokers and broadening its appeal to more SMEs.

The upper limit of the product has been raised and businesses can now borrow between £25,000 and £200,000 over the short to mid-term. This update comes shortly after Nucleus increased the maximum term length from three to five years, which is available to those businesses looking to borrow over £75,000.

Both changes are part of the lender’s focus on offering competitive pricing and to provide UK SMEs with greater access to funding – supporting them with the finance they need to achieve their ambitions.

Chirag Shah, CEO, Nucleus Commercial Finance comments: “Demand for cash flow finance is growing, and we expect this trend to continue as uncertainties around Brexit reduce and businesses start investing and planning for growth. Whether it be to help even out seasonal peaks and troughs, to mitigate the impact of long payment terms, or to expand a business, this product can enable businesses to achieve their strategic goals.

“Following feedback from brokers we’ve made our offering increasingly flexible to provide more competitive solutions to our customers. Ultimately, it’s our duty as an alternative finance provider to help UK SMEs thrive by finding flexible options that suit their needs.”

February 13, 2020

Masthaven founder to step back from executive role

Masthaven Bank has announced that its founder, Andrew Bloom, is stepping back from his position as CEO at the end of April 2020, with chief financial officer Leigh Bartlett taking over the role. Andrew will continue as a shareholder and non-executive director.

Andrew founded Masthaven in 2004 and went on to build the business from a specialist bridging lender into one of UK’s leading newly launched banks.

Since the Bank’s launch in November 2016, Masthaven has grown to over 180 staff, has completed over £1.1bn of lending and has provided innovative deposit solutions to its retail and business customers resulting in over £1.2bn of savings being raised.

Under Andrew’s leadership, Masthaven has received numerous awards for its digital innovation, its lending & savings products and customer management services. In 2015, the business also featured in The Sunday Times’ Fast Track 100 (the annual awards designed to recognise Britain’s fastest growing 100 private companies) and, in 2017, was recognised by the Financial Times as the 240th fastest growing company in Europe.

In April 2019, Värde Partners completed a strategic £60m equity investment in Masthaven, which was a key step in enabling the bank to continue to achieve its strategic ambition to become one of the leading specialist banks in the UK residential and SME markets.

Andrew Bloom, said:

“Masthaven has been a major part of my life over the past 15 years and it has been a privilege to found, serve and grow Masthaven from the early days when it was just a handful of people to the Specialist Bank it is today.

I am very proud of Masthaven and how its talented employees have always striven to deliver a personal solution for our customers and intermediaries. We have built an incredibly strong foundation and a great leadership team. As a non-executive director and significant shareholder, I will continue to assist Leigh and the leadership team in driving Masthaven forward.

I’m very fortunate to be in a position to be able to take a step back from the day to day running of the business and have decided to take full advantage of this. I’m looking forward to the next stage of my life where I already have many plans including cycling through Botswana to the Victoria Falls, as well as various other charity and business endeavours.

Given the high level of employee ownership and the backing from my other shareholders, Värde Partners and the William Pears Group, I feel now is the right time to pass on the baton. I’m therefore delighted to announce that Leigh Bartlett will take over as CEO from 1st May 2020. Leigh is an experienced retail banker and has my full support.”

Leigh Bartlett, said: “It’s an honour – and great responsibility – to take over from Andrew. I would like to thank him personally for the support he has given me since joining Masthaven. I look forward to continuing to grow the bank, together with the Masthaven team, to become one of UK’s leading specialist banks in the UK residential and SME markets.”

Ashley Machin, chairman said: “It is always a seminal moment when a founder CEO steps away from his executive role. His commitment and contribution to Masthaven has been second to none. I’d like to thank him both personally and on behalf of the Board for the journey he has led Masthaven on over the past 15 years. I look forward to continuing to work with him as part of the Non-Executive team on the Masthaven Board.”

 

 

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