Spain-based Banco Santander (Santander Group), a multinational commercial bank and financial services company, announced this week it has completed its purchase of a 50.1% stake in Ebury, a UK-based Fintech firm that offers corporate banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that trade internationally, following a £350 million investment.
As previously reported, the transaction of Ebury’s stake was announced in November 2019 and is part of Santander’s digital strategy to provide SMEs with the tools for their international expansion through global trade finance services. Ebury currently has operations in nearly 20 countries and 140 currencies. It has reportedly increased its revenues by an average of 50% per year over the past three years.
Founded in 2009, Ebury is a financial services company that specializes in international cash management solutions including cross-border payments, FX risk management, and business lending.
“We provide expertise and excellent customer service, usually reserved for the bank’s biggest customers, with our innovative technology and unrivaled capabilities. Our mission is to make international finance simple and accessible to all businesses.”
Through the support and investment from Santander, Ebury will notably be able to expand its business to other markets in both Latin American and Asia. Speaking about the company’s growth, Juan Lobato and Salvador Garcia, Co-founders of Ebury, stated that in just a little over ten years the company has grown from a small fintech to having more than 1,000 employees. The duo noted:
“Thanks to the support of Santander, we will be able to expand the business even more internationally and enter new markets.”
Sergio Rial, Chairman of Santander Brazil and Chairman of Ebury, added:
“The investment in Ebury is a significant strategic milestone for bank, allowing us to boost our capabilities in an exciting market with high growth potential. This new acquisition will provide us with the capabilities to further increase the Global Trade Services business with a new world-class platform with which we expect a significant return on investment in the coming years.”
