The SimplyBiz Group has rebranded to Fintel as it looks to become a "house of quality brands" in the financial services market.
The brands which are owned by Fintel - such as SimplyBiz and Defaqto - will keep their names and co-chief executive Matt Timmins has said their customers will notice no difference immediately.
He said: "What I hope they will notice is that we are able to bring the best parts of Defaqto to SimplyBiz. We continue to roll out new modules of regtech to our customers and we are able to acquire new brands to put into the Fintel stable as well."
Explaining the rebrand, Timmins said use of the SimplyBiz name was becoming "stretched" since the group was made up of brands which offered so many different services - such as SimplyBiz, Defaqto, Centra, New Model Business Academy and Verbatim Asset Management.
He said the acquisition of Defaqto in 2019 was the trigger which led to the rebranding.
Timmins said: "The SimplyBiz Group previously provided services to intermediaries. We were starting to really stretch the brand and then acquiring Defaqto stretched it even further."
He said each brand would continue to operate as its own business with its own management team.
Timmins said: "What we are trying to do is to make sure we give prominence to those brands and build the platforms above them that allows us to acquire the next quality business.
"[We are looking to acquire] anything that would add a new customer base, such as acquiring a new support service business, or anything that would bring in technology to support one of our three audiences [of intermediaries, consumers and product manufacturers]."
Timmins said Fintel had no interest in providing financial advice or manufacturing financial products.
He moved to reassure SimplyBiz customers as Fintel looks to grow, by citing the Defaqto acquisition.
Timmins said: "What we have done since buying Defaqto is really invest in the technology that SimplyBiz has at its heart. We have built onto that software with our regtech service.
"The best way to reassure people is to cite the evidence of what's happened. This will be no different.
"We want to make sure we deliver more to our customer base."
The SimplyBiz Group floated on the London Stock Exchange Aim in 2018 and has since seen its market cap grow by nearly £50m.
Its platform is used by 8,500 advisers and it provides 3,700 firms with regulatory and business support.
The company's founder, Ken Davy - who remains Fintel's chairman, said: "In 2019, we acquired Defaqto and have recently set out an ambitious digital growth strategy for the medium term.
"The time is now right to evolve our corporate brand into Fintel and harness our knowledge, influence and excellence to help the market and our clients operate more effectively and inspire better outcomes for all."
damian.fantato@ft.com
