Wed, 28 Jul 2021 | BUSINESS SALE
Starling Bank has made its first acquisition, with a £50 million cash and share deal for buy-to-let mortgage provider Fleet Mortgages. The takeover is part of Starling’s plan to grow through forward-flow arrangements, lending and strategic acquisitions, with the Goldman Sachs-backed bank aiming to launch an IPO within two years.
Fleet Mortgages is a provider of mortgages for buy-to-let landlords via adviser distributions channels. Following the acquisition, the company’s day-to-day operations and management team will remain unchanged, but Starling will become the sole funder for future originations, enabling the firm to tap into the bank’s deposit base.
Starling Bank has a deposit base of around £6.7 billion and is aiming to deploy this to continue its rapid expansion thus far. This growth has been driven in part by its participation in government-backed rescue loan schemes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The acquisition of Fleet Mortgages is seen by the bank as being the first in a series of takeovers. Founded in 2014, Hampshire-based Fleet Mortgages has originated £2.3 billion mortgages to date, currently has around £1.75 billion of mortgages under management and forecasts that it will originate a further £800 million this year.
Starling Bank CEO Anne Boden said: “The acquisition of Fleet Mortgages is the start of our move into mortgages as an asset class and builds on a number of forward-flow arrangements that we’re doing with leading non-bank lenders.
“Fleet’s existing management team will remain in place and Fleet will continue to operate as a stand-alone company, keeping the original name and brand. We’re buying Fleet because it is very good at what it does, not because we want to change it.”
Fleet Mortgages CEO Bob Young added: “We are very pleased to be announcing the acquisition of the business by Starling Bank which will deliver a significant benefit to the business, our intermediary partners and their landlord clients.
“Starling Bank will take over all of our funding, allowing us to focus on achieving our significant and ambitious lending and growth targets. This is a natural progression for our lending business, with both Starling and Fleet sharing a very similar cultural fit, and provides us with a very strong lending base from which to work and to deliver for our staff, our adviser partners and our landlord customers.”
Find businesses for sale here.
If you are looking for an exit, we can help!
An outsourced employment law and HR specialist offering a comprehensive range of services for clients throughout the UK.
LEASEHOLD
A specialist consultancy providing project controls/planning, design management and workflow optimisation support for clients across the UK, the USA and the EU. The company’s comprehensive service offering helps clients plan, manage and control th...
LEASEHOLD
The company specialises in the authoring and compilation of record and handover documentation for buildings, which it delivers via its own in-house developed web-based software platform, electronically, and high-quality hard copy. Priding itself o...
LEASEHOLD
27
|
Jan
|
Administrators to sell assets as office furniture maker collapses | ADMINISTRATION
Bluespot Furniture, a West Yorkshire-based furniture manufac...
26
|
Jan
|
UK M&A down 16 per cent in 2022, but sentiment remains optimistic | BUSINESS NEWS
New analysis from PwC has revealed that UK M&A activity decl...
26
|
Jan
|
Private equity-backed law firm targeting further M&A in 2023 | BUSINESS NEWS
Stowe Family Law, a Leeds-headquartered specialist family la...
Sign up to receive our acquisition alert emails to get your FREE guide
27
|
Apr
|
Starling Bank grows acquisition war chest after fundraising | BUSINESS NEWS
Digital bank Starling has raised £130.5 million in a f...
Business Sale Report is your complete solution to finding great acquisition opportunities.
Join today to receive:
All this and much more, including the latest M&A news and exclusive resources