Santander invests £350 million in Ebury to boost global trade services

Banco Santander has announced a £350 million (approximately €400 million) strategic investment in Ebury, the trade and foreign exchange facilitator for small and medium-sized companies. The bank says the investment will strengthen its Global Trade Services offer. Ebury, which operates in 19 countries and 140 currencies, has generated consistent average annual revenue growth of 40% in the past three years.

Under the terms of the transaction, Santander will acquire 50.1% of Ebury for £350m, of which £70m will be new primary equity (approximately €80 million) to support Ebury’s plans to enter new markets in Latin America and Asia. The bank expects a return on invested capital (RoIC) higher than 25% in 2024. Ebury’s existing investors, including co-founders and management, will reinvest in the transaction and the current management team will remain leading Ebury’s expansion.

Ebury offers a suite of foreign exchange and international payments services to SMEs, mid-corporates, banking partners and non-banking financial institution partners. The company has 900 employees working in 22 offices in 19 countries. In 2018, the company processed £16.7 billion in payments for their 43,000 clients.

Ebury will continue operating as an independent unit, supported by Santander following its extensive experience in leveraging its Group scale to grow and develop the companies it has invested in, such as Getnet, the bank’s Brazilian subsidiary.