A former star of London FinTech has brought in a new executive team following its rescue from the brink of collapse.
Railsr, an embedded finance platform, was acquired by a consortium led by D Squared Capital in a pre-pack administration deal last month.
The deal, for just £500,000, is a far cry from the $1 billion valuation it once sought in funding negotiations. Last October the company raised $46 million at a $250m valuation, with co-founder Nigel Verdon claiming it was en route to profitability.
Verdon left his role as CEO last month and now Philippe Morel, former CEO of blockchain company SETL – sold in January – has been appointed in his place.
Debbie Lotz joins as CFO and Nick Charteris as COO, while former Mastercard chairman Rick Haythornthwaite, who joined the company in a bid to get it back on track, will remain as chair.
Railsr, which claims to have five million end-users, has developed APIs which make it easy for developers to integrate banking and card functionality into their products and services.
“This is a pivotal moment for Railsr and we are starting a new phase on the front foot,” said Haythornthwaite. “This triumvirate of executive appointments bring deep experience and renewed energy to rebuild momentum, drive change and return Railsr to growth.
“Together, we will tackle challenges constructively and methodically embrace opportunities to stabilise the business, strengthen market confidence and grow competitive advantage.
“Philippe brings a potent combination of turnaround experience, strategic consulting and operational leadership, a set of skills which will lead the Railsr team and customers to success. I look forward to partnering closely with him in the coming months.”
Prior to SETL, Morel was global head of Boston Consulting Group’s capital markets practice, EMEA leader for BCG Private Equity and Principal Investors Practice, and chairman of the board of Expand.
“I am delighted to join Railsr as the company embarks on its new journey. I was very impressed by the technology, the team both in London and Vilnius and look forward to working with our clients and partners to take Railsr on the path to growth again,” he said.
Lotz recently relocated from Australia to the UK. She most recently held the role of executive leading data risk governance at the National Australia Bank. She has also held roles at the Commonwealth Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Charteris spent the last 12 months as general manager of Crypto.com in the UK. He previously held the role of global head of operations.