14 November 2023
Fintel, the leading provider of fintech and support services to the UK retail financial services sector, has today announced the acquisition of VouchedFor, a leading review site for professional advisers.
VouchedFor provides reviews on a wide range of services, including financial advisers, mortgage advisers, solicitors, and accountants and currently has over 5,000 paying members and over 350,000 client reviews. Following the acquisition, its leadership and team will remain in place and work alongside the Fintel management team to play a crucial role in significantly expanding the reach and services of VouchedFor.
Fintel, the parent company of SimplyBiz and Defaqto, will acquire VouchedFor for £7.5m through Fintel IQ, the business’s technology and knowledge platform. The acquisition is in line with Fintel’s strategy to improve the retail financial services market, promote the value of financial advice, and increase consumer confidence and trust, and furthers its strategy of curating a streamlined tech infrastructure for advisers.
Also announced today, Fintel’s subsidiary Defaqto has acquired AKG, a market leading ratings provider. The addition of VouchedFor and AKG mark the is the latest third and fourth acquisitions by Fintel this year, following the acquisitions of leading learning and development provider, Competent Adviser, and tax efficient investing specialists, Micap completed in July 2023.
Neil Stevens, Joint CEO of Fintel, commented:
"VouchedFor is an exceptional business with a very important mission – to increase confidence in, and generate demand for, professional financial advice. We passionately believe in the enormous value of professional advice and will invest in VouchedFor to grow its market reach; ensuring the UK’s standard bearer for trusted advice can serve every advice business in the UK.
“We are delighted that the talented team at VouchedFor shares our vision for the future and we are closely aligned in our mission to promote and enable better connections to professional advice. We will be working with the team to take that mission to the next level in 2024 and further announcements of a groundbreaking new service we’ve developed together will be made in the coming weeks.”
Alex Whitson, Managing Director of VouchedFor, added:
“I am thrilled that we have found a partner who shares our commitment to championing the value of advice – a mission that is crucially important. Our technology makes it easier for advisers to deliver and showcase great client experience, enabling the public to get the help they need. Fintel’s investment will enable us to accelerate our growth, launch more services for advisers, and enhance our client offering. I believe that the combination of Fintel and VouchedFor will be incredibly positive for the entire profession.”
Fintel is the UK's leading fintech and support services business, combining the largest provider of intermediary business support, SimplyBiz, and the leading research, ratings and Fintech business, Defaqto.
Fintel provides technology, compliance and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses, data and targeted distribution services to hundreds of product providers and empowers millions of consumers to make better informed financial decisions. We serve our customers through three core divisions:
The Intermediary Services division provides technology, compliance, and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses through a comprehensive membership model. Members include directly authorised IFAs, Wealth Managers and Mortgage Brokers.
The Distribution Channels division delivers market Insight and analysis and targeted distribution strategies to financial institutions and product providers. Clients include major Life and Pension companies, Investment Houses, Banks, and Building Societies.
The Fintech and Research division (Defaqto) provides market leading software, financial information and product research to product providers and intermediaries. Defaqto also provides product ratings (Star Ratings) on thousands of financial products. Financial products are expertly reviewed by the Defaqto research team and are compared and rated based on their underlying features and benefits. Defaqto ratings help consumers compare and buy financial products with confidence.
For more information about Fintel, please visit the website: www.wearefintel.com