City of London Group PLC (COLG) has reported a pre-tax loss of £3.6m for the year ended 31st March 2019 after absorbing £1.7m of costs associated with applying for a UK banking licence and acquisition of Acorn to Oaks Financial Services Limited.
This comes after the group reported a £1.1m pre-tax loss last year following the absorption of banking licence application costs.
As part of the UK banking licence process, its subsidiary Recognise has progressed the recruitment of its executive team and appointed five independent NEDs.
Recognise hopes to receive authorisation to accept deposits by late 2020 and is working to submit a banking licence application to the regulator by the end of 2019.
Following that, it will launch an institutional fund raise.
Recognise will target lending between £100,000 and £2.5m, with retail and business savings up to £85,000, while it will offer a range of products, including unregulated bridging, commercial loans, BTL and asset finance.
Michael Goldstein, CEO at COLG (pictured above), said: “We have continued to focus on implementing our long-term growth strategy of serving the UK SME market and increasing the financial strength of the group.
“We have built a very high-calibre NED team for Recognise, and we remain confident that we will be able to submit an application to the regulator by the end of 2019, after which we will embark on an institutional capital raise.
“Overall, looking forward, through the evolution of our business, we are well placed to deliver on our strategic objectives and to deliver value for our shareholders.”
The results also revealed that the group’s newly acquired financial services intermediary, Acorn to Oaks Financial Services Limited, has set up a commercial finance broking division.
-
Temenos partners with ClearBank for cloud payments
Banking software company Temenos has formed a strategic relationship with ClearBank to provide banks with a faster route to market for real-time cloud payments...
-
Unity Trust Bank registers 34% rise in profits
Unity Trust Bank increased profits by 34% in 2019...
-
Believe the hype – why explainable AI is a trend that’s here to stay
Technology has become a ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives...
-
Piloting tech updates: ‘The bigger the bank, the harder it is to get anything done’
In the latest Medianett filmed roundtable session, we discussed how important technology is in the banking space, and what impact the industry expects it to have on its businesses in the future...
-
What banks need to know about cloud security
One of the most common perceived concerns when adopting the cloud is the issue of security...
-
OakNorth sees 95% increase in pre-tax profits
OakNorth Bank has announced a 95% rise in pre-tax profits in 2019 to £65.9m, up from the £33.9m recorded in 2018...
-
Redwood Bank signs up to Women in Finance Charter
Redwood Bank has announced that it has signed up to the Women in Finance (WIF) Charter...
-
Masthaven launches digital Women in Leadership programme
Masthaven Bank has launched a new Women in Leadership digital development programme for female senior leaders...
-
Protecting against supply chain disruption and the domino effect
Disappointingly, many UK SME business owners don’t understand their supply chains...
-
Confused about which Isa to choose? Hopefully this mini-guide will help…
We are now firmly in Isa season, so you’re likely to read multiple articles about the most competitive Isa products in the market and how best to make the most of your Isa allowance before the end of the tax year...
-
Garden shed entrepreneurs contribute £16.6bn to the UK economy
Entrepreneurs who run their businesses from garden sheds contribute £16.6bn annually to the UK economy, according to a recent study...