European financial deposit marketplace Raisin has made its first acquisition, Manchester-based PBF Solutions, as it prepares to enter the UK savings market.
Launched in 2013 by former MoneySupermarket banking head Kevin Mountford, PBF provides customer acquisition, onboarding and marketing services to challenger banks and overseas institutions entering the UK market. The company claims to have helped clients secure over £3.1 billion of retail and business deposits and investments through the acquisition of 150,000 new customers.
For Raisin, which offers retail customers a choice of savings products from a panel of over 40 banks, the acquisition provides a foothold in the dynamic UK banking market, and a local base untroubled by Britain's forthcoming exit from the European Union.
Tamaz Georgadze, Raisin’s CEO and founder, says: "Together with PBF we are bringing our solution to the UK savings market, with a single digital solution for banks and an integrated proposition for savers."
Founded in Berlin in 2013, Raisin closed a €30 million Series C financing round in January with a goal of expanding into new markets and broadening its product based beyond savings accounts to encompass new investment opportunities.
To date more than 90,000 European customers have invested over EUR 4.3 billion into Raisin marketplace deposits. The 120-people strong company operates country-dedicated platforms in Germany, France, Spain, and Austria alongside its European platform www.raisin.com. Earlier this month the firm announced its expansion into the business deposit marketplace.
PBF CEO Kevin Mountford will assume overall responsibility for the UK expansion of Raisin and preside over an expanded team as the firm rolls out new products for the UK's savings market.