Centrepoint exits lending aggregation
Centrepoint Alliance has moved to sharpen its focus announcing it is divesting its lending aggregation business to Astute Financial.
Centrepoint chief executive, John Shuttleworth announced the transaction at the same time as releasing the unaudited first half financial results for the firm pointing to a 17% increase in normalised EBITDA to $6.2 million.
The company described the transaction with Astute as being accretive resulting in a $400,000 uplift to annual EBITDA from FY27 via a nil-cash strategic agreement.
Outlining the transaction, Centrepoint said it would divest its lending aggregation business to Astute, excluding the back-book revenue which will remain with Centrepoint.
As well, it said Centrepoint will secure 100% of the financial advice licence margin that Astute currently derives from Astute-aligned advisers operating under Centrepoint’s license, while Astute will receive all new business revenue generated from the lending aggregation business divested by Centrepoint.
The announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said the agreement followed a cooperative relationship between the parties and formalises a long-term, strategically aligned commercial operating model.
The Centrepoint announcement said the transaction allows a clear focus on licensee services, financial advice, managed accounts and platforms consistent with the firm’s long-term strategy.
As well, it noted retention of the the Lending-as-a-Service (“LaaS”) business, credit licence, and salaried brokers ensuring advisers continue to access integrated lending solutions without operating a sub-scale aggregator.
Shuttleworth said the agreement represented a natural next step in Centrepoint’s transformation.
“By divesting a non-core, sub-scale aggregation business and securing the full licence margin from Astute-aligned advisers under our AFSL, we strengthen our recurring revenue base and sharpen our focus on delivering high-quality advice services,” he said.
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