A London-based FinTech has acquired Italy’s leading debt administration provider days after a £1bn+ investment.
Earlier this week GLAS announced strategic investment from leading European mid-market private equity firm, Oakley Capital, and one of Canada’s largest institutional investors, La Caisse.
Now the company has announced the acquisition of Loan Agency Services (LAS), Italy’s leading debt administration provider.
This investment, as well as GLAS’ recent acquisitions, has helped the company’s assets under administration grow to over US$750bn, with 40 per cent organic growth, over £115m+ in annual revenue, 14 offices worldwide and now over 450 staff.
Founder of LAS, Isidoro Lucciola will remain as chair of GLAS Italy and will also work alongside the broader GLAS executive team to further develop strategic opportunities.
CEO Roberto Mugnaioli will stay on and oversee operations in Milan and Rome.
Mia Drennan, founder and CEO of GLAS, said: “We are thrilled to bring LAS into the GLAS family. We have been servicing the Italian market for many years from our other European offices, so it is fantastic to now have a local team of 30 in Rome and Milan.
“This news marks the 10th country across the global GLAS network and culminates the most successful year the company has ever had.
“Our clients can look forward to an enhanced service offering in the region, as well as an expansion of our services through LAS’s current capabilities.”
Isidoro Lucciola, founder and chair of LAS, commented: “When we launched Loan Agency Services 15 years ago, our vision was to create an operator that could truly support the financial infrastructure of our country.
“Today, we are the leading independent provider of agency services and credit-monitoring tools in Italy with more than 52 billion euro of loans under administration over time.
“But it has become clear that the next step is to broaden our reach and service offering.
“By joining forces with the world leader, GLAS, we can now do exactly that.
“The acquisition will bring additional benefits to all our stakeholders, and we are genuinely excited to begin this new phase of development of our company.”
Drennan, who is the current EY Entrepreneur of the Year, co-founded GLAS in 2011 with just £6,000.