Ideagen (AIM:IDEA) Acquires Redland Business Solutions Ltd
LONDON, UK, 10/6/19 – Ideagen plc, the UK-based, leading global software firm, today announced the acquisition of Redland Business Solutions Ltd for £15.8 million.
Based near Birmingham, UK, Redland Business Solutions (‘Redland’) is a RegTech software-as-a-service (SaaS) company which supplies regulatory and compliance software to the financial services industry.
It’s leading software platform, ‘Insight’, provides banks, investment managers, asset managers and insurance companies with solutions that underpin the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) and individual employee competency.
Redland currently generates revenue of circa £4.2 million – of which around £3 million is recurring. The company brings more than 40 clients to the Ideagen Group, including, 7 FTSE 100 and 2 Fortune 500 companies. Clients include, Nomura, Santander, Investec, Hargreaves Lansdown and Rathbones.
Ideagen CEO, Ben Dorks, said: “Redland is a high growth, successful and profitable software company which will significantly strengthen our audit and risk business unit. It is a single product, brand rich organisation which cements our position in the financial services vertical and, at the same time, falls in line with our key business strategy of migrating to a SaaS business.
“This acquisition enhances Ideagen’s financial services domain knowledge and provides us with ‘first mover’ advantage in relation to SM&CR compliance and in the general regulatory evolution of the financial services industry.”
David Hornsby, Executive Chairman of Ideagen, said: “Redland is an extremely valuable addition to the Group and is in line with our strategy of acquiring Integrated Risk Management businesses that have strong intellectual property (IP) and growing recurring revenues.
“Financial services is an important vertical market for Ideagen and the combination of Redland’s Insight platform with Ideagen’s Pentana will provide a compelling proposition covering internal audit, risk management, certification and SM&CR compliance.”
SM&CR is a ‘root and branch’ review of the standards of accountability for each relevant staff member within every Financial Conduct Authority regulated firm.
It took effect for banks, building societies, credit unions and dual-regulated (FCA and PRA regulated) investment businesses in March 2016 and rolls out to all other FCA regulated firms on 9th December, 2019, replacing the Approved Persons Regime.
Joel Turland, Executive Chairman at Redland, who – alongside current CEO Gary Muchmore – will step down from his position following the acquisition, said: “We are delighted that Redland will be joining the Ideagen Group, which truly is a global organisation in the governance, risk and compliance software space. With thousands of clients globally, Ideagen will be able to introduce our Insight product to a range of new clients.
“Ideagen is not just acquiring an outstanding product in the form of our ‘Insight’ solution, but is also gaining a superb team with exceptional industry domain which successfully develops, markets, sells and supports it across the UK.
“I am looking forward to seeing ‘Insight’ and the wider Redland team going from strength to strength with the expanded reach and opportunities available via Ideagen.”
https://redland-solutions.co.uk/
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT:
Joe O’Brien
PR & Media Relations
Ideagen
+44 (0) 01629 699100
+44 (0) 7916 131501
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR)
Following the 2008 financial crisis, and subsequent review of the financial services industry, Parliament sought to replace the UK Approved Persons Regime (APR) with a regime that was more focused on senior managers and individual responsibility. This resulted in the creation of a new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR). The SM&CR has been in force for banks, deposit takers and PRA designated investment firms since March 2016. The SM&CR is to be extended to cover all regulated financial services firms from 9 December 2019.
This new regulation directly impacts the most senior employees, including all C-suite members, in an organisation. In the largest firms many hundreds of individuals, are captured by SM&CR. Furthermore, Conduct Recording and Breach Management is required for all staff with the exception of specified ancillary staff.
The complexity and scale of managing SM&CR means that if a firm has over 100 employees, the use of manual systems or customised HR software is extremely challenging. The risk to the firm, and individually to senior managers of personal fines and sanctions for failing to demonstrate effective controls is significant driving the need for systems specifically designed to manage the regime.
Joe O'Brien
PR & Media Relations
Ideagen
+44 (0) 1629 699100
+44 (0) 7916 131501
joseph.obrien@ideagen.com
Ideagen is a UK-headquartered, global technology company quoted on the London Stock Exchange AIM market (Ticker: IDEA.L).
The Group provides software and services to organisations operating within highly regulated industries such as aviation, banking and finance, life science, healthcare and manufacturing with its main operational premises spread throughout the UK, EU, US, Middle East and SE Asia.
With an excellent portfolio of software products including Q-Pulse, Coruson, Pentana Audit, Pentana Risk and PleaseReview, Ideagen helps its clients reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, strengthen compliance and oversight and anticipate and manage every detail of risk.
Currently, more than 5,000 organisations use Ideagen's products including seven of the top 10 UK accounting firms, all of the top aerospace and defence companies and 75% of the world's leading pharmaceutical firms.
Ideagen's diverse and varied customer base includes many well-known, global brands such as British Airways, Aggreko, BAE, Ryanair, US Navy, KLM, BBVA, Bank of New York, Commerzbank, Meggitt, Heineken, Johnson Matthey, Haeco Group and European Central Bank. As well as this, Ideagen counts 180 hospitals across the UK and US amongst its client base.
Ideagen directly employs more than 420 members of staff and touches every continent globally.
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