UK fintech Zempler Bank snapped up for less than half previous valuation
London-based fintech Zempler Bank has been snapped up by Nigeria’s biggest bank in a deal that has slashed the firm’s valuation, CityAM can reveal.
The small business lender – formerly known as Cashplus – has been acquired by The Access Bank UK with a price tag of around £3.45p per share.
The sale represents a dramatic haircut for Zempler, which netted a valuation of £80m in its 2020 fundraising round.
The raise had priced shares at just over £9, with Access’ acquisition taking a mammoth chop to the fintech’s value.
In Zempler’s latest Companies House filing for the year ending March 31 2025, the digital bank’s profit grew 58 per cent to £5.2m.
But its net loans fell by 10 per cent in the period to £25.5m from £28.2m, while debt charge-offs – where a creditor declares an unpaid account a loss because it is deemed unlikely to be collected – rose to £5.9m from £4.3m.
Zempler suffered ‘prolonged period of muted lending’
The firm pointed to “higher delinquencies resulting from the cost of living crisis earlier in the year [and] early defaults emergence from prior year acquisitions following a prolonged period of muted lending”. It also flagged “proactive balance sheet management of accounts that have historically been on long-term repayment plans”.
‘Microbusiness’ customers – a focus for the firm – remained broadly flat at 170,280 – just a 0.57 per cent rise in the financial year.
In Access Bank UK’s latest accounts for the 2024 financial year, the firm’s pre-tax profit grew 14.5 per cent to £173.4m (£127.32m). The Lagos-based bank’s assets swelled nearly 40 per cent to $6.13bn.
The lender is the UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s largest bank, specialising in trade lending, asset management and private banking for UK-based clients.
CityAM revealed last year the boss of Access had snapped up a £15m mansion in one of London’s most prestigious postcodes.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, who took the helm in May 2022, snapped up a luxury pad in north London.
The transaction for the property was completed in August, Land Registry documents show, while Access Bank’s UK arm has also issued a mortgage in connection with the site.
When contacted for comment, spokespeople for both companies issued the same statement.
“The Access Bank UK Limited has agreed to acquire a 100 per cent shareholding in Zempler Bank Limited,” they said.
“The transaction has now received regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the coming weeks.”