GLI-backed Sancus BMS raises stake in Sancus Finance
SHARES in peer-to-peer invoice finance platform Sancus Finance have been repurchased by its parent company after being sold just a year ago.
The Sancus BMS Group, a subsidiary of Aim-listed investment firm GLI Finance, has reversed a transaction with a consortium of private investors after buying back 10 per cent of shares in its own invoice finance platform.
Read more: GLI Finance posts £16.5m loss after “difficult” 2016
A group of investors purchased 23,209 ordinary shares and 200,000 preference shares last July, valued at £350,000 and £203,490 respectively.
But a stock market announcement today revealed that the shares had been repurchased at the same valuation, claiming the “operational relationship has not developed as envisaged at that time and greater flexibility is required going forward.”
Read more: Sancus Finance launches revamped P2P platform
The move takes the Sancus BMS Group’s holding in the former Platform Black brand to 98.23 per cent.
“Sancus Finance is increasingly being run on a combined basis with Funding Knight which is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of GLI,” the statement said.
“Increased ownership of Sancus Finance provides greater flexibility to deliver the synergies associated with running the two businesses alongside each other.
“By combining offices and some elements of infrastructure, significant cost reductions have been achieved, including through lower staff numbers. A new combined sales team has been recruited to offer an enhanced and wider product range in the second half of 2017 offering a one stop solution to the small business, property and education sector offering increased revenue potential.”
Read more: Platform Black rebranded as Sancus Finance