GLI Finance prepares for Irish property platform launch
GLI Finance (GLI) has offloaded its stake in an Irish fund dedicated to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and will instead focus on property lending in the country.
A stock market update from the AIM-listed alternative finance firm on Tuesday said GLI had sold its 30.3 per cent stake and the loan assets it holds in BMS Ireland to the BPC Ireland Lending Designated Activity Company fund, which is managed by Beach Point Capital.
BMS Ireland and its investment adviser BMS Finance AB will be wound up, with staff transferring to the new fund manager.
GLI is expected to receive around £7m from the sale, which is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to close on or before 1 August 2018.
Read more: Sancus BMS helps GLI Finance return to profit
GLI said the proceeds will help launch a new property finance business in Ireland in the same month.
“The net proceeds of the transaction will be redeployed for general investment purposes including the launch of Sancus BMS’ property backed lending business in Ireland which is due to commence activities in August 2018,” the stock market update said.
“The company believes that this business should generate a higher return on capital compared to the historic working capital lending business.”
GLI Finance spent most of 2017 overhauling its business which saw the creation of Sancus BMS to manage and rename the Platform Black and Funding Knight P2P brands.
Sancus Finance, formerly Platform Black, and Sancus Funding, the new name for Funding Knight, will later be merged into a single Sancus UK brand.