Fox Williams advises Allica Bank on £110 million equity raise and acquisition of c.£600 million loan portfolio from Allied Irish Bank

Fox Williams advised Allica Bank on a £110 million equity raise led by new investor Atalaya Capital Management, alongside Allica’s existing lead investor Warwick Capital Partners.

Fox Williams also advised on the acquisition of a c.2,000 SME customers and c.£0.6 billion of associated lending from AIB Group (UK) Plc following AIB’s exit from the SME market in Great Britain. The transaction will build on Allica Bank’s positive momentum since launching in March 2020 and accelerate the bank’s ambition to become the leading SME challenger bank for the decade ahead. 

The acquisition brings forward Allica Bank’s target profitability date to the middle of 2022, with total combined lending book to be over £1 billion.

Allica Bank, which has full UK banking authorisation, opened its doors to customers in March 2020 and provides banking services to small and medium sized enterprises. Allied Irish Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in Ireland and the transaction represents its exit from the SME market in Great Britain.

The Fox Williams team was led by corporate partner Guy Morgan and supported by financial services and fintech partner Peter Finch; fintech partner Jonathan Segal and corporate associates Bethany Silkin, Bhavin Bhatt and Anjali Aravindhan.

Guy Morgan said: “We are delighted to have supported Allica on these hugely important transactions which will accelerate the bank’s ambition to become the leading SME challenger bank for the decade ahead. The two deals showcase our expertise in the fintech, and in particular advising challenger banks.”

Kate Valdar of Allica Bank said “We’re extremely grateful to Fox Williams for their excellent advice and support on our equity raise and loan book acquisition. Undertaking both transactions simultaneously has presented a level of complexity which they have handled expertly. The transactions are a significant step for Allica Bank and the whole team at Fox Williams have worked side by side with me to see the transactions through to a successful conclusion.”