A leading financial technology company, partially owned by Legal & General (L&G), is currently in discussions for a potential merger that would result in one of the largest non-bank consumer lenders in Britain. According to sources familiar with the matter, Salary Finance, which offers wage advances to employees, and Oakbrook, a tech-enabled lending platform, are in talks to combine their operations. This decision comes as a result of discussions between their major shareholders.
Salary Finance is jointly owned by L&G and Blenheim Chalcot, a prominent digital ventures builder based in London. Blenheim Chalcot’s portfolio includes successful fintech companies such as Liberis and Modulr, and they recently sold their remaining stake in Clearscore. Sources have revealed that L&G and Blenheim Chalcot have been in discussions for several months about merging Salary Finance and Oakbrook.
If the merger goes through, the combined company would have a substantial loan-book worth £500m and a customer base of 200,000 active users. This news comes shortly after L&G’s new chief executive, Antonio Simoes, created a non-core unit for corporate investments, which are now being considered for divestment. This includes Cala Group, a well-known housebuilder. While L&G’s stake in the merged entity is expected to be diluted, it is unclear at this time if they have plans to sell their interest in the near future.
Sources have stated that the primary goal of the merger between Salary Finance and Oakbrook is to offer more transparent and accessible credit options to consumers who have traditionally struggled to access affordable credit. Salary Finance has reportedly had a successful year so far. The merger is expected to be finalized in the coming months, according to insiders. Both L&G and Blenheim Chalcot declined to comment on the matter.
