REG - B.P. Marsh &Partners - New Investment - iO Partners

B.P. Marsh & PartnersAnnouncement

Wed 07:00

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RNS Number : 7538F  B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC  23 April 2025

23 April 2025

 

B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc

("B.P. Marsh" or the "Company")

 

New Investment - iO Finance Partners Topco Limited ("iO Partners")

 

B.P. Marsh (AIM: BPM), the specialist investor in early-stage financial
services businesses, is pleased to announce that it has subscribed for an 8%
shareholding, via a mixture of Preferred and Ordinary shares in iO Partners,
for £10m.

 

iO Partners is a buy-and-build opportunity within the alternative financing
market, intending to bring together a diverse group of alternative finance
providers to support and grow the UK economy and SME market.

 

iO Partners' strategy is to fill a funding gap in the UK market. Upon
completion, iO Partners intend to acquire three alternative finance providers.

 

These acquisitions form the first part of iO Partners' strategy to become a
transformative player in the alternative finance space.

 

iO Partners is led by an experienced management team, headed by CEO, Mike
Ellwood, and Group Managing Director, James Shore.

 

Mike Ellwood is an experienced Corporate Banker having been Managing Director
for RBS Structured Finance and most recently established Santander as a
significant player in the UK Corporate Banking market as Head of Corporate and
Commercial Banking, where he built the business to more than £20bn in assets
and almost 1,000 people.

 

James Shore has worked in financial services for 15 years, beginning his
career with Close Brothers, the UK merchant banking group, then moving to
Lombard International Assurance, a provider of life insurance products to
high-net-worth individuals.

 

A co-investor to this transaction is Janus Henderson, investing £10m on the
same terms as the Company. Janus Henderson is a NYSE listed global active
asset manager headquartered in London. As of 31(st) December 2024, Janus
Henderson had approximately £302.4 billion in assets under management.

 

B.P. Marsh sees this an opportunity to invest in an experienced management
team with a track record in the sector, backed by strong investors, which can
deliver long term returns to our shareholders, further developing on our
ability to source and make unique investment opportunities in the financial
services sector, alongside our primary focus on insurance distribution
investments.

 

B.P. Marsh has a strong pipeline of new business opportunities within the
insurance intermediary sector and subject to appropriate terms, the Group
anticipates making additional investments over the course of its current
financial year to 31 January 2026.

 

At completion, Oliver Bogue, an Investment Director at B.P. Marsh, will be the
appointed to the Board of iO Partners.

 

Dan Topping, Chief Investment Officer of B.P. Marsh stated:-

 

"B.P. Marsh has a successful track record of investing in the financial
services sector, backing experienced management teams, alongside supportive
partners.

 

"We look forward to working with the team at iO Partners to achieve their
goals. By leveraging each party's expertise and resources, we are confident
that together we can drive significant growth and deliver strong returns for
shareholders."

 

James Shore, Group Managing Director at iO Finance Partners, stated:-

 

"In response to the increasing difficulty faced by alternative lenders in
accessing conventional financial markets, iO will offer a strategic solution
to bridge the funding gap that has emerged as high street banks scale back on
lending to SMEs.

 

"iO is creating a one-stop platform exploiting the growing demand in private
credit, and our strategic acquisitions will enable us to deliver on both our
promises of creating interesting and diversified products to investors, whilst
supporting the pressing financing needs of UK SMEs."

 

 For further information, please visit www.bpmarsh.co.uk
 (http://www.bpmarsh.co.uk) or contact:

 B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc                            +44 (0)20 7233 3112

 Brian Marsh OBE / Alice Foulk

 Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker:          +44 (0)20 7886 2500

 Panmure Liberum Limited

 Atholl Tweedie / Amrit Mahbubani / Ailsa MacMaster

 Joint Corporate Broker:                              +44 (0)20 7496 3000

 Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP

 Charles Leigh Pemberton / James Moat / Asha Chotai

 Financial PR & Investor Relations:                   bpmarsh@tavistock.co.uk (mailto:bpmarsh@tavistock.co.uk)

 Tavistock                                            +44 (0)20 7920 3150

 Simon Hudson / Katie Hopkins / Kuba Stawiski

Notes to Editors:

B.P. Marsh's current portfolio contains seventeen companies. More detailed
descriptions of the portfolio can be found at www.bpmarsh.co.uk
(http://www.bpmarsh.co.uk/) .

 

Since formation over 30 years ago, the Company has assembled a management team
with considerable experience both in the financial services sector and in
managing private equity investments. Many of the directors have worked with
each other in previous roles, and all have worked with each other for over ten
years.

 

- Ends -

 

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