Sancus buys bosses’ stakes in Isle of Man business

GLI FINANCE has announced that its subsidiary Sancus BMS Group has agreed to buy directors’ remaining stakes in Sancus’ Isle of Man business to avoid conflicts of interests.

The Aim-listed alternative finance investment firm said on Friday that Sancus BMS Group, which owns peer-to-peer lending platforms Sancus Finance and FundingKnight, will acquire an additional 6.2 per cent stake in Sancus IoM for £476,238.

This comprises a 3.1 per cent stake owned by Andy Whelan, chief executive of GLI, Sancus BMS and Sancus IoM and a 3.1 per cent stake owned by John Davey, executive director of Sancus BMS and Sancus IoM.

This will increase Sancus BMS’ shareholding in the business to 29.3 per cent.

“It will allow GLI to further benefit from the growth of the Sancus IoM business as it continues to execute its strategy and will remove the conflicts of interests resulting from the connected directors’ personal shareholdings,” it said in a stock exchange announcement.

The acquisition will be financed from existing GLI corporate bonds held by Sancus BMS Group and £49,538 in cash.

GLI has undergone a major strategic review after a challenging period for the firm.

It rebranded Platform Black as Sancus Finance and is shifting FundingKnight towards asset-backed lending, such as bridging and development finance.

Its losses almost doubled in the first half of 2017, hit by £12.6m of write downs as it continues its planned restructuring of the business.

Read more: GLI Finance sells off assets as part of strategic review