Acquisition of a fast-growing telephone advice mortgage and specialist lending intermediary to accelerate growth in the national lead sector and broaden revenue mix and customer proposition. Significant earnings enhancement expected in the first full year post acquisition.
Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) plc (“MAB” or the “Company” which such term shall include its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited), one of the UK’s leading consumer intermediary brands and specialist Appointed Representative networks, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire, via its subsidiary Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited, approximately 75% of Project Finland Topco Limited (“Fluent” or the “Fluent Money Group”) for a total cash payment of c.£73 million based upon an enterprise value of £95 million (on a debt free, cash free basis) (the “Acquisition”) together with a put and call option over the remaining interests.
Fluent is a technology enabled telephone advice mortgage broking platform that has developed an end to end digital customer journey, with approximately 420 employees including c.125 advisers across Mortgages (first charge mortgages), Secured Personal Loans (second charge mortgages), Later Life lending and Bridging Finance. The Acquisition will be funded from renewed and increased debt facilities, existing cash resources and the proceeds of a proposed placing of new ordinary shares in the Company (“Placing Shares”), to raise c. £40 million (the “Placing”), also announced today (the “Placing Announcement”). This announcement should be read in conjunction with the Placing Announcement.
The Placing is being conducted through an accelerated bookbuilding process, which will be launched immediately following the release of the Placing Announcement. Numis Securities Limited (“Numis”) is acting as the Company’s sole bookrunner in connection with the Placing. The Company and Numis have today entered into a placing agreement with respect to the Placing (the “Placing Agreement”).
The Acquisition is conditional on admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM and approval by the FCA of the change in control. Completion of the Acquisition is not expected to occur before the second half of 2022.
