REG - Cornerstone FS PLC - Sale of Non-Trading Subsidiary

Cornerstone FSAnnouncement

20/09/2023 17:30

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RNS Number : 1220N  Cornerstone FS PLC  20 September 2023

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20 September 2023

 

Cornerstone FS plc

("Cornerstone" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Sale of Non-Trading Subsidiary

Value realisation from non-core API licence to generate £150k

 

Cornerstone FS plc (AIM: CSFS), a foreign exchange and payments solutions
company offering multi-currency accounts to businesses and individuals through
its proprietary technology platform, is pleased to announce that it has
entered into a share purchase agreement ("SPA") for the sale of its
non-trading subsidiary, Capital Currencies Ltd ("Capital Currencies"), which
is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") as an
authorised payment institution ("API"), for a consideration of £150,000 to be
paid in cash on completion.

 

The Company acquired Capital Currencies in February 2022 to accelerate the
Group's growth and its transition to a direct customer base as Capital
Currencies' focus was on providing high-level currency exchange and
international payments services directly to larger UK-based SMEs. All of
Capital Currencies' customers were subsequently transferred to the Cornerstone
technology platform and its staff became employees of the Group following the
acquisition, such that Capital Currencies has not been a trading entity since
November 2022. In addition, the Group's primary operating subsidiary,
Cornerstone Payment Solutions Ltd., is authorised and regulated by the FCA as
an authorised electronic money institution, which gives the Group more
extensive regulatory permissions than the more limited API licence held
through Capital Currencies.

 

Accordingly, the Board believes that it is in the best interests of the
Company to realise the value of this non-core asset through its disposal to a
non-competing entity. The proceeds from the sale of Capital Currencies will be
used to strengthen the Company's existing cash resources.

 

Completion of the SPA, and receipt of the £150,000 cash proceeds, is
conditional upon receipt of regulatory approval from the FCA.

 

James Hickman, CEO of Cornerstone, said: "This is a great outcome for
Cornerstone, generating value from the sale of a licence, that is surplus to
our requirements, to a non-competing business. As with the sale of our Avila
House subsidiary at the start of the year, which was acquired for its small
e-money licence, this transaction also demonstrates the importance of payments
and e-money registrations and the value that purchasers place on them. As we
noted in our recent interim results, we had an excellent first six months of
the year with that momentum continuing into H2, and this additional £150k,
when received, will further strengthen our cash position."

 

Enquiries

 

 Cornerstone FS plc                            +44 (0)203 971 4865
 James Hickman, Chief Executive Officer

 Judy Happe, Chief Financial Officer

 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)       +44 (0)203 368 3550
 Mark Brady, Adam Dawes

 Shore Capital (Broker)                        +44 (0)207 408 4090
 Daniel Bush, Tom Knibbs (Corporate Advisory)

 Guy Wiehahn (Corporate Broking)

 Gracechurch Group (Financial PR)              +44 (0)204 582 3500
 Harry Chathli, Claire Norbury

 

 

About Cornerstone FS plc

 

Cornerstone FS plc (AIM: CSFS) is a foreign exchange and payments company
offering multi-currency accounts and payment solutions to businesses and
individuals. Headquartered in the City of London, Cornerstone combines a
proprietary technology platform with a high level of personalised service to
support clients with payments in over 150 countries in 58 currencies. With a
track record of over 12 years, Cornerstone has the expertise, experience and
expanding global partner network to be able to execute complex cross-border
payments. It is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an
Electronic Money Institution. www.cornerstonefs.com
(http://www.cornerstonefs.com/)

 

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