Spanish banking group Santander has bought a majority stake in fintech firm Ebury for £350m as they look to expand their digital focused plan.
Santander has purchased a 50.1% stake in the fintech firm as Ebury provides SMEs with foreign exchange services, trade finance and cash management.
Ebury has grown rapidly since starting in 2009 and posted revenues of £43.7m in the year to April 2018.
Ana Botin, group executive chairman of Banco Santander said, “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 Garcia, co-founders of Ebury, said: “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 counter-party 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.”
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