Finablr

The company was established by the Indian-born former billionaire B. R. Shetty in April 2018.[3] Initial investments included UAE Exchange, which Shetty acquired in 1980, and Travelex, which was acquired in 2014.[3]

In October 2018, Finablr brands, Travelex and Swych, launched a cross-border shopping solution for WeChat Pay users.[4]

In November 2018, Finablr acquired India's digital payments firm TimesofMoney from Network International to capitalise on the growth of e-commerce.[5] Also in November 2018, Finablr became a majority shareholder of Swych, a digital gifting platform.[6][7]

In February 2019, Finablr announced collaboration with RippleNet for cross-border payments to process blockchain-powered cross-border transactions in Thailand.[8][9]

The company was the subject of an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in May 2019.[10]

In January 2020 it was disclosed that shares representing 56% of the company had been pledged by BRS Ventures & Holdings, a company controlled by Dr BR Shetty, as collateral for borrowings.[11]

In February 2020 it was announced by Ditto Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the business, that their consumer-facing (B2C) operation would cease over the following few months.[12][13]

Throughout February and March 2020 shares in the business fell more than 90% compared with their value at 31 December 2019.[14] This followed a considerably turbulent time for the business following the Travelex cyberattack that took place on New Year's Eve 2019 and directly affected its services across the globe for around six weeks,[15][16] with the financial impact of this currently estimated in the region of circa £25 million on a like-for-like basis.[17] The business's share price had also been impacted by the founder, co-chairman and primary shareholder B. R. Shetty's links to the troubled NMC Health business, of which is he is also a founder and co-chairman, combined with the headwinds dealt by the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. The business said:

"The outbreak of Covid-19 is an incremental negative for Travelex's business given broad exposure to airports and travel flows. VAT and related services will also be negatively impacted. While China and other Asian in-country revenue account for approximately 10% of Travelex revenues, other markets closely linked to Asian outbound travel are also experiencing headwinds."[17]

On 12 March 2020, the business announced that it was taking steps to assess accurately its current liquidity and cashflow position,[18] with shares trading at circa 7 pence, down 97% from 11 December 2019 when their value peaked at 215 pence.[19]

On 16 March 2020 the business's listing on the London Stock Exchange was suspended as it was announced that it was in danger of collapse having identified circa $100m (£81m) of undisclosed financing, which meant it no longer had any certainty over its financial position. Simultaneously, Promoth Manghat, Group CEO, left the business.[20] The business also stated that it was no longer able to provide certain payment processing services; however it failed to address which services this entailed. Administrators, Kroll, were appointed to carry out an independent investigation into its finances.[21]

On 17 March 2020 the business announced that it has engaged an accountancy firm to undertake rapid contingency planning for a potential insolvency appointment,[22] with administration likely later in the week.[23]

On 18 March 2020 the business announced that its UAE Exchange division had been taken over by the Central Bank of the UAE with immediate effect. The Central Bank of the UAE also stated that it had commenced an examination of UAE Exchange in order to verify its compliance with applicable laws and regulations.[24]

On 29 March 2020 EY (Ernst & Young LLP) resigned as auditor of the business.[25]

On 9 April 2020 it was reported that Travelex had paid the ransom fee of $2.3 million to restore their systems. While paying the ransom may have restored the Travelex network, for those whose data was potentially compromised, they are stuck in limbo and no detail of this possible breach is currently available.[26][27]

On 9 April 2020 shares in the business were suspended from the London Stock Exchange. The business announced the resignation of Promoth Manghat as chief executive with immediate effect the same day, as well as the appointments of administrators Kroll and Houlihan Lokey to carry out an independent investigation into its finances. Among other localised authorities the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates are also investigating the business's finances.[28]

On 22 April 2020 the Travelex division announced that it had placed itself up for sale with immediate effect and was working with administrators PwC on the sale process, it stated that the division had "communicated this intention to Finablr".[29][30]

During April 2020 the operations of most of the business's fascias were suspended in their entirety, Travelex being a current exception who continue to provide a limited service. UAE Exchange, Xpress Money, TimesofMoney, Remit2India, Unimoni and Ditto (which had ceased previously) all display suspension notices on their corporate website homepages

"[division name] is temporarily unavailable for undertaking transactions. We regret the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we endeavour to restore the service"[31]

On 30 April 2020 Finablr announced previously undeclared debts of around $1.3 billion had been identified by Houlihan Lokey and Kroll as part of their investigations, and that it "cannot exclude the possibility that some of the proceeds of these borrowings may have been used for purposes outside of the Finablr Group".[32][33]

On 5 May 2020, despite remaining a Finablr-owned business, co-branding of the Travelex division introduced mid-2019 appears to have been removed from its online presence.[34][35]

During June 2020, Xpress Money, a Finablr business, had its authorisation to operate withdrawn by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.[36]

Finablr has a European Banking licence through the French division of Travelex.[37][38]

At the date of the initial public offering, Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty owned 64.2% of the shares and Mr Binay Shetty owned 3% of the shares.[1] Other major shareholders included UX Investment Holdings Limited (6.8%), Brokerage House Securities (4.9%) and Tejera Capital (3.8%).[1] In January 2020, UX Investment Holdings sold 6% of the share capital and agreed a 90-day lock-up for the remaining shares.[39]