Praetura acquires Kingsway Asset Finance

Blackburn-based Praetura Asset Finance has acquired Kingsway Asset Finance, forming a company with a £100m loan book.

Praetura acquired the Cheshire-based firm for a seven-figure price and sees it become one of the largest independent asset finance companies in the UK.

The enlarged group will offer SMEs a wide range of services to help them thrive and grow. The combination of Praetura’s expertise in hard assets with Kingsway’s specialist knowledge of soft assets and business loans will give the group more flexibility in its approach to lending and help it scale more quickly.

Founded in 2013, Praetura Asset Finance was the first truly independent asset finance funder to enter the UK marketplace in 15 years. The deal with Kingsway, itself one of the UK’s longest established independent asset finance and leasing companies, marks Praetura’s first acquisition after years of organic growth.

The now 40-strong team will undertake larger and more valuable deals. Adrian Anthon, the managing director of Kingsway, joins the board of Praetura Asset Finance, as well as taking equity in the combined group.

The acquisition was financed by RM Funds, a specialist provider of tailored debt solutions, which structured, executed and subscribed to an initial issuance of a £15m bespoke Loan Note programme.

Mike Hartley, managing director of Praetura Asset Finance, said: “After achieving our five-year plan of building a loan book in excess of £60m, we wanted to take the business to the next level. Our new ‘buy and build’ model will be a key part of our growth strategy moving forward, and Kingsway Asset Finance was the perfect company to join us on this journey.

"The company complements what Praetura already does, allowing us to widen the group’s product range and help us get to where we want to be as a business."

Adrian Anthon, managing director of Kingsway Finance, said: “After 21 years as an independent company, I am delighted that Kingsway has joined the Praetura Asset Finance Group. The fact that both companies have their own specific strengths and very little overlap was an important factor in my decision to sell Kingsway to Praetura Asset Finance.”