Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, one of Britain’s most prominent businesswomen, is in advanced talks to sell her money-saving app to Vanquis Banking Group, the consumer lender.
It’s understood Dame Jayne-Anne is close to closing a deal with Vanquis – formerly Provident Financial – with an announcement likely in the coming weeks.
The former CEO of Virgin Money launched the Snoop program in 2019 with the goal of using open banking reforms to aid consumers’ efforts to save on household bills.
This goal has become even more pressing during the cost-of-living crisis, and understandably so, the Snoop app has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times.
However, the fintech’s financial performance has been unclear.
Dame Jayne-Anne has raised several rounds of financing for Snoop, with high-profile investors including Paulson & Co, which at one point ranked among Wall Street’s most successful hedge funds, and individuals including Sir Lloyd Dorfman, billionaire Travelex.
The valuation that Vanquis was in talks to pay for Snoop was uncertain on Friday, although one investor questioned the idea it would be close to the £47m the business was valued at in an earlier round of financing.
Snoop has been working with Rothschild bankers on plans to raise new capital or sell the company outright for several months.
The app uses so-called ‘open banking’ technology to track users’ spending and promote ways to save them money, and generated more than £1m in revenue last year, according to insiders.
Vanquis is the logical buyer for the company given its focus on mortgage lending and customer demographics.
It closed its loss-making high-cost consumer credit division, which included the door-to-door lending arm Provi was known for, two years ago after the company ran into financial trouble.
On Friday, Vanquis shares were trading at around 189.08p, giving the company a market value of £482m.
Snoop received acquisition interest three years ago, when it received an approach from MoneySuperMarket, though talks failed to progress.
The Dame Jayne-Anne Project argues it could save the average British family £1,500 a year at a time when energy bills and other costs of living are rising sharply.
The former Virgin Money chief executive, who is also chairman of HM Revenue & Customs, said there was a total saving of £12 billion for consumers who have been penalized for their loyalty and indifference.
She also recently served as the President of Moneyfarm, another UK-based fintech company that specializes in wealth management.