Tag: outsourcing

Link Financial Acquires Aiqon Capital Espana

27 October 2017 – Newswire

Yesterday, the Link Financial Group announced that it had bought a specialist loan servicing platform, Aiqon Capital Espana. Based in Madrid, the one hundred and ten people strong team will add further capacity to Link’s existing Spanish business, Link Finanzas. The team will continue to service the €6 billion portfolio of loans bought by the Group’s Investment Manager, LCM Partners.

“Link Financial has been active in the Spanish market since 2004 when it established Link Finanzas. This announcement demonstrates the breadth and depth of opportunity we continue to see in Spain and underscores our commitment to this vibrant market. With a strong, full-service platform in place, we are confident that both businesses, operating under the Link Financial banner, will together grow and build on each other’s strengths. We are proud to welcome our new colleagues to the firm and are excited by the opportunities that this acquisition will offer Link Financial in the Spanish market.” – Selina Burdell, Link Financial Group Chief Operating Officer.

“The acquisition of the Aiqon business has been part of a wider transaction and portfolio purchase concluded by LCM Partners. The Aiqon team bring a depth of expertise in servicing Small to Medium Enterprise receivables and this means they are a seamless addition to our existing business and operation in Spain.

The Spanish market offers a lot of opportunity for businesses such as Link and Aiqon and together we will be stronger and able to offer our banking partners an exceptional proposition in the servicing of loan portfolios.” – Pablo de la Viña, Managing Director, Link Finanzas.

Established in 1998, Link Financial Group is a leading specialist outsourcing firm, providing European financial institutions, investors and other credit providers with outsourced loan management, debt purchase and standby servicing solutions. Today, it manages more than 2.5 million customer accounts, employs 700 people across 10 European offices and manages €25 billion of Gross Book Value.

Link was one of the founding members of the industry and has been at the forefront of innovation ever since. Link’s proprietary operational platform allows its businesses to service a range of asset types from within and outside the financial services industry.

Original story: Newswire 

Edited by: Carmel Drake

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Ibercaja Outsources Its RE Management To Aktua

3 February 2016 – Expansión

Yesterday, the Aragonese group Ibercaja signed an agreement to outsource the management of its real estate assets to Aktua.

The platform, which is owned by the US fund Centerbridge, has itself been up for sale since the end of 2015. Altamira is one of the favourites in the running to acquire it.

The operation signed by Ibercaja is the first of its kind in the Spanish banking sector since 2013, when the large entities, such as Santander, CaixaBank, Bankia and Popular all sold their real estate platforms under management contracts lasting around ten years.

Those operations allowed the Spanish banks to raise capital in exchange for ceding future commissions, and transferring the administration and sale of their assets to specialist firms. Those deals allowed them to focus on their strategic business, namely: to grant loans and take deposits.

“This operation, which is going to have a positive impact on the income statement of Ibercaja Banco, aims to establish a stable partnership with a prestigious industrial partner, to strengthen the entity’s strategy of boosting the sale of its real estate assets through the retail channel and simplifying and optimising its structure in the real estate sector”, said Ibercaja in a statement.

With this operation, the financial group takes a step closer towards its future debut on the stock market in the medium term. This comes after the sale of the majority if its bad real estate loans to Oaktree last year.

Ibercaja has been advised in this process by N+1 and Baker & McKenzie, and Aktua has been advised by KPMG, as its financial and legal advisor.

Original story: Expansión (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation: Carmel Drake