Plenti Commences Trading on the ASX
Technology-led lending and investment business Plenti Group Limited (ASX:PLT) has commenced trading on the ASX today.
Today we commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) following the successful completion of an initial public offering (IPO) that raised $55 million from institutional investors and retail investors, including investment customers participating on the Plenti lending platform.
The offer represented an issue of new shares, with no sell down by the Company’s cofounders or other existing investors. Plenti lists with an implied market capitalisation of approximately $280 million.
Plenti’s IPO received strong support from institutional investors across Australia and New Zealand. Investors were attracted to Plenti’s record of rapid and responsible growth, proprietary technology platform powering simple digital experiences, strong credit performance (including during the current COVID-19 pandemic period), and the Company’s pursuit of market share in large lending markets undergoing structural, regulatory and/or technology-led change.
Plenti offers loan products in three core verticals of the Australian credit industry: automotive lending, renewable energy lending and personal lending. Annual loan originations across these three lending verticals are estimated to exceed $45 billion. Since launching in late 2014, and as at the Prospectus Date, Plenti has funded approximately $870 million of loans to over 55,000 borrowers and has attracted over 22,000 investors to fund loans via its lending platform. The Company has approximately $400 million of loans outstanding. The Company employs over 100 people across its headquarters in Sydney and its Adelaide operations office, complemented by a team of engineering staff in Vietnam and operations staff in Manila.
In addition to Plenti's proprietary technology platform, a key strength of the Company's business model is the diversity of its funding platforms. Plenti commenced operations with a focus on retail investors and has deliberately diversified its funding base to include wholesale investors and a warehouse funding facility with one of the major banks as senior funder.
Plenti lists on the ASX having achieved compound annual revenue growth from FY2018 to FY2020 of over 60%. Loan originations in FY2020 totalled $286m, and the Company is forecasting loan originations of $318m in the 12 months to the end of September 2020.
CEO Daniel Foggo celebrated the important milestone for the Company stating, “From day one we have strived to create meaningful value for everyday people by offering simpler, smarter loan and investment products. Consumers have always been at the heart of our business and we are delighted to now offer everyday people, especially our retail investor customers, the opportunity to invest in our continued growth and success.”
“Listing today is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of so many who believe in our mission: to offer consumers better value by supporting a fairer, more efficient financial system for all.
Plenti Chairman (and former Resimac CEO) Mary Ploughman welcomed the successful completion of the IPO, saying “This is a landmark day for the business and our shareholders. The Board firmly believes that Plenti, with its determined and capable management team, is well-positioned to continue to grow strongly through leveraging its technology platform, as well as the strong foundations it has in place across borrower experiences, its borrower introducer network, its funding diversity and its credit risk management capabilities.”
“I am especially excited about Plenti’s growing presence in the automotive and renewable markets. The scale of the opportunity is immense and our team is well-placed to gain market share through our best-in-class digital offerings.”
Funds raised in the IPO will be used to invest in future growth, leveraging the Company’s proprietary technology platform and existing distribution channels to grow loan originations across its core automotive, renewable energy and personal lending verticals
“By listing, we expect to continue to scale and diversify in our core lending verticals: automotive, renewable energy and personal loans. We are also poised to expand our warehouse funding program so we can offer our seamless digital experience to more consumers than ever,” Mr Foggo said.
