Aquila Services : acquires treasury and banking consultancy – Finalysis UK Limited – RNS Released

Aquila Services Group has today announced that it has purchased Finalysis UK Limited to join the group's FCA authorised treasury arm Aquila Treasury and Finance Solutions Ltd (ATFS).

Co-founded by Tim Wilding and David Leighton in 2002, Finalysis provides a range of bespoke treasury and banking services to higher and further education institutions. Since setting up, Finalysis has raised over £1.6 billion in project finance for its clients and delivered in the region of £7 million of cost benefits/savings.

Finalysis will join Aquila's existing treasury and finance consultancy team at ATFS, complementing and expanding our existing offer with expert knowledge in education sector finance.

Finalysis provides a range of services tailor made for each client covering areas such as:

• Debt advisory - new finance and debt restructuring
• Debt negotiation and mediation
• Payment card services, benchmarking review and tenders
• Banking services value for money review and tendering
• Treasury management policy and strategy
• Banking market review and key market information

The team of 6 has developed a strong and loyal client base of higher and further education institutions, delivering flexible services in a tailored and personal way. Based in East Sussex, they work across the UK.

This acquisition provides strong opportunities for collaboration across the subsidiaries of Aquila Services Group: Altair, ATFS, Oaks and the Aquila investments in IT consultancy 3C, and Fintech platform AssetCore. The acquisition increases the Group's offer to the higher and further education sectors, where it already has a presence through sport and education consultancy Oaks; as well as widening its offer to existing clients in housing and regeneration. It also expands the capacity to support a wider range of clients, with a broader range of services. This will benefit both existing and new clients.

Steve Douglas CBE, CEO of Aquila and one of the founding partners of Altair commented:

'The acquisition sees Aquila Services Group extend our offering in the wider education sector and therefore helps us fulfil our vision of making a real difference to communities, housing, regeneration and people's lives in the UK and beyond.

We are thrilled that the experienced team at Finalysis have chosen to become a part of the group and lead our work across treasury and finance in the higher and further education sectors. We look forward to further collaboration and growth between the group's subsidiaries, in order to build on our track record in supporting organisations to grow, change and be resilient.'

David Mairs, CEO of ATFS highlights some of the opportunities the acquisition brings:

'Finalysis joining ATFS provides a broader combined range of treasury and debt advisory skills and enhances the service offer to our clients. FCA authorised ATFS will expand the scope of debt advisory services to Finalysis clients. There is also huge potential to augment information services currently provided to clients, particularly in education, through our client web portal. I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to working with the new team to drive forward the growth of ATFS.'

Tim Wilding, who is joining ATFS along with fellow Directors David and Richard Leighton,commented:

"Finalysis has grown and developed a highly skilled team successfully delivering solutions for over 210 clients. Joining ATFS now is a great opportunity to grow and buildon our successes to date with a partner that shares our commitment to delivering great outcomes for our clients. We are excited to join ATFS and to contribute to the growth of Aquila Services Group as well as exploring new opportunities with clients in the housing sector".

Details of the Acquisition

The Group has purchased Finalysis UK Limited to be a part of Aquila Treasury and Finance Solutions Ltd for a mixture of cash and shares and includes all Finalysis UK Limited business and staff. Finalysis will become a brand name of ATFS.

Altair, ATFS, Oaks and Finalysis all currently provide a range of complementary services which can benefit each other's existing clients. There will be a direct opportunity to expand the client bases of Oaks, our education and sport consultancy who provide organisational strategy, business planning and income generation for schools and academies, and Finalysis, who are focused on finance for further and higher education institutions. Altair's HR, governance, and recruitment offers are also suitable for Finalysis' clients. Finalysis will work as part of ATFS within the social housing sector too.

To view the full RNS on the London Stock Exchange - please click here.

Find out more about ATFS.

Find out more about Aquila and it's subsidiaries.