Source: moneycorp
moneycorp, the UK’s leading foreign exchange provider, has signed an agreement to acquire a minority stake in Novo Mundo Corretora de Câmbio, a fast-growing Brazilian foreign exchange business with a 15 year heritage in international payments and retail FX.
The investment, subject to local approvals, will be the latest step in moneycorp’s global expansion strategy, which has already seen the business establish offices in Spain, France, Ireland and the US to service increasing demand for international payments flows from these countries to and from the UK, and globally.
Establishing a foothold in Brazil will enable moneycorp to take advantage of significant growth opportunities within the country and across South America, from corporate and private clients within buoyant property and import-export markets.
Headquartered in São Paolo, with offices in Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Novo Mundo Corretora de Câmbio currently employs 75 staff. The business offers international payments, foreign exchange, bank notes and MasterCard currency card services and has seen strong and steady growth, with a 332% increase in turnover in the last five years. It will be well placed to increase its share of the Brazilian FX market with moneycorp’s involvement.
Alongside this investment, moneycorp continues to see strong organic growth across its international payments and retail businesses. During H1 2015 the firm saw gross profit jump 20% to £60.4m, following record investment into its online capability during 2014. moneycorp’s international payments and retail divisions have both seen strong revenue growth over the last six months.
Mark Horgan, CEO of moneycorp said:
“Acquiring a stake in Novo Mundo is part of moneycorp’s long-term international expansion strategy, which is focused on establishing a foothold in markets that offer solid and sustainable growth opportunities both now and the future.
“Novo Mundo has been an excellent commercial partner to moneycorp for more than two years, so the investment was a natural next step in solidifying and growing moneycorp’s presence in the South American market, where we see huge opportunity for specialist FX services based on competitive pricing, expert teams and fast, efficient systems.
“It’s an exciting move for moneycorp, and our appetite for expansion into additional overseas markets will continue into 2016 and beyond.”