Stuttgart-based GFT Technologies has reached agreement to acquire London-based IT consultancy and services provider Rule Financial. Details of the acquisition have not been disclosed, but it will significantly strengthen GFT Group’s presence in the UK and US investment banking markets, and add employees and revenue.
Rule Financial includes nine of the world’s top 10 leading investment banks among it clients, leading Marika Lulay, chief operating officer of GFT Group and head of the GFT division that provides IT solutions to the banking sector, to comment: “We see further strong growth potential in the field of investment banking. A raft of new regulation in the UK and US is forcing all market participants to make radical adjustments to their processes and IT systems. As a trusted partner, we are ready to help. We are an attractive employer with highly skilled business specialists and IT experts who can guarantee a top-quality and punctual implementation of complex IT projects using innovative technologies and methods.”
As well as clients, the acquisition will add about 800 people, of which 660 are permanent employees, to GFT’s global team of 2,300. Rule Financial has about 250 business and IT consultants based I London, with a further 80 in New York, Boston and Toronto. It also has near-shore facilities in Poland, Spain and Costa Rica that provide 480 programmers and complement GFT’s development centres in Spain and Brazil.
The acquisition is also expected to add revenue of around €42 million to GFT Group’s second half revenue, and support a full-year revenue increase from €260 million in 2013 to around €352 million in 2014.
Chris Potts, CEO of Rule Financial, says: “We are proud to be part of the GFT Group. There were many potential suitors for the firm, but our management team was convinced that GFT was the best fit for us – and vice versa. The location of our various offices, our near-shore capacities, client relationships, solutions offered and organisational structure all fit together like a jigsaw and multiply our opportunities. This transaction is clearly based on growth in all areas, which will also benefit all our employees.”
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