OakNorth Makes First SME Acquisition with Fluidly Deal

SME-focused company gets its hands on a cashflow forecasting tool for small businesses.

The search for SME action heats up with fintech firm OakNorth revealing its acquisition of cashflow business Fluidly for an undisclosed amount.

This is OakNorth’s first acquisition and it is subject to regulatory approval due to Fluidly’s Financial Conduct Authority registration.

Rishi Khosla, Co-Founder and Group CEO of OakNorth, states: “This is an exciting moment for us, we have always said that we will be opportunistic in evaluating acquisitions which have a strong strategic fit with our mission.”

Founded in 2016, London-based Fluidly offers a cashflow forecasting tool for small businesses.

Its real-time software connects to a Xero or QuickBooks account and uses the data to automatically build a cashflow forecast in a chart. Fluidly says it is used by over 30,000 businesses.

OakNorth tells eWeek UK there are no job cuts as part of the deal. The company is taking on everyone from Fluidly, which has about 50 employees. (OakNorth has 462 employees listed on LinkedIn.)

According to SME-focused OakNorth, the team which Fluidly has assembled, as well as its relationships with about 1,300 accountancy firms, will help its growth strategy.

Since its launch in September 2015, OakNorth says it has lent over £6.5 billion. It provides its software, the ON Credit Intelligence Suite, which uses “data-driven, real-time sector insights”, and machine learning-powered anomaly detection, peer comparisons, sector insights and events-based scenarios.

The software is used by various banks such as SMBC, ABN Amro, Capital One, PNC, Fifth Third, and OakNorth’s own bank in the UK, OakNorth Bank – which the Fluidly team will work with.

The SME market is very competitive in the UK. Along with the high street banks, other challenger banks in this space include Recognise Bank, Bank North, mibanc, Mettle, GB Bank, Soldo, Tide, Starling, Monzo and Revolut.

Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton is the Editor of eWeek UK. He has 18 years' journalism and writing experience. His career has taken him to China, Japan and the UK - covering tech, fintech and business. Follow on Twitter @TonyFintech.
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