Fintel PLC on Tuesday said it expects core revenue for 2023 to rise slightly, despite tricky market conditions.

Fintel is a Huddersfield, England-based technology and support provider for the retail financial services sector.

Shares in Fintel were down 6.3% at 245.00 pence each in London at midday on Tuesday.

Fintel reported a ‘resilient performance’ for the year ended December 31, and expects £56.6 million in core revenue, up 0.3% from £56.4 million in 2022. The measure excludes revenue from panel management and surveying.

The company anticipates roughly 5.7% growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to £20.5 million, from GBP 19.4 million a year prior.

Fintel said it has been able to weather housing market headwinds thanks to its ‘market leading position’ and diverse customer base, as well as ongoing growth in fintech software revenue and software licence sales.

Looking ahead, the company believes it is ‘well placed’ to benefit from a recovery in the mortgage market in 2024.

The company completed four acquisitions over the year, reducing its net cash position to £1.7 million from £12.8 million in 2022.

The combined core revenue generated from the acquisitions was £1.5 million by the end of 2023.

Fintel said that the acquisition-heavy year was in line with its strategy to ‘expand into adjacent markets’, while adding scale, intellectual property and quality data sets to its portfolio. Two additional acquisitions were completed in January.

In December, Fintel announced its intention to acquire Synaptic Software Ltd, a London-based provider of financial adviser planning and research software, for £3.5 million.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it had received regulatory approval and the acquisition had been completed.

In December, Fintel’s joint-Chief Executive Officer Neil Stevens said that Synaptic Software ‘complements and extends our current capabilities, and offers us positive synergistic opportunities for growth and value in the near term’.

The company also completed the acquisition of Owen James, a ‘leading provider of strategic engagement events in UK financial services’, in late January.

An upfront cash consideration of £700,000 was provided, and the company has agreed to a further £1.6 million contingent earnout payment, subject to Owen James meeting key trading criteria in the first three years of Fintel’s ownership.

Joint Fintel CEO Matt Timmins said: ‘In 2023 we made significant strategic progress, increased our scale, and reach through the acquisition of four businesses to our platform, and delivered a resilient financial performance in line with expectations. We have demonstrated continued evidence of our capacity and ability to drive organic growth, source and execute complementary acquisitions, and invest in our technology and data propositions.

‘We are confident of delivering further progress in the year ahead as we continue to scale our proposition, realise our very active M&A pipeline and invest in our service and technology platform, with our growth underpinned by recurring incomes and positive structural market drivers.’

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