Santander recently announced a £350 million investment in Ebury, the trade and foreign exchange facilitator, catering to small and medium-sized companies.
Ebury has generated consistent average annual revenue growth of 40% in the last three years and today operates in 19 countries and 140 currencies.
The UK-based startup operates worldwide, offering a distribution platform offering fantastic customer experience and product capabilities.
The investment will see Santander acquire 50.1% of Ebury for the £350m, of which £70m will support Ebury’s plans to enter new markets in Latin America and Asia.
Ana Botín, Group Executive Chairman of Banco Santander, said: “Small and medium-sized businesses are a major engine of growth around the world, creating new jobs and contributing up to 60% of total employment and up to 40% of national GDP in emerging economies. SMEs are becoming increasingly global and Santander is the best positioned bank to play a leading role to help them access global trade finance.
“By partnering with Ebury, Santander will deliver faster and more efficient products and services for SMEs, previously only accessible to larger corporates.”
Juan Lobato and Salvador García, co-founders of Ebury, added: “Combining a big bank with nimble fintech means we can offer our clients the best of both worlds: they can benefit from our technology and high-quality service safe in the knowledge that they are counterparty to one of the world most important financial institutions.
“It is an exciting time for Ebury, we have just completed our first acquisition, and the new capital from Santander and our existing shareholders will allow us to invest in new ways to serve SMEs trading internationally and continue the growth in our business while keeping our entrepreneurial culture.”
