Mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec has announced the acquisition of Bluecoat Software.
The combined business, which will operate under the Twenty7Tec brand and which will have nearly 100 employees, will be led by CEO James Tucker. Mark Skelding, former CEO of Bluecoat Software, will join the board of Twenty7Tec Group as a non-executive director.
Bluecoat Software provides the mortgage, protection and wealth management CRM solution ‘Finplan’ to over 300 advisory firms. Finplan is already integrated with Twenty7Tec’s CloudTwenty7 platform, which allows clients of the combined business to benefit immediately from a fully integrated product offering.
CloudTwenty7 is used by over 15,000 mortgage advisers every day to search and apply for mortgages for their clients.
As part of the acquisition, Twenty7Tec says it will be investing heavily in developing Finplan into a “market-leading” CRM solution for the wealth, mortgage and protection markets, as well as continuing to further develop the other mortgage capabilities of the combined businesses.
Tucker said: “Since inception, we have built an enviable reputation in the mortgage market for building technology that enables advisers to serve their clients in a simpler, faster and more efficient manner.
“We believe the product skills and knowledge that we have accumulated as a business in the mortgage market are eminently transferable into adjacent markets. Today, Finplan is a highly configurable solution, and we are confident that we can deliver real value to advisers in mortgages, wealth management and protection.
“In addition to our significant investment in our new product family, we plan to recruit heavily to further strengthen our senior team in particular, bringing in the expertise and experience that we believe will be needed in order to be successful.
“This represents our first significant acquisition, but we will continue to look for opportunities to enhance our product offering in the UK. We will continue to look for other business that share a similar ethos and desire to drive efficiency and innovation in the financial services technology market.”
Skelding added: “I’ve got to know James very well over the last year as part of these discussions, and it’s clear to see what he and the team have done at Twenty7Tec in the last seven years. They’ve successfully disrupted that market and are now bonafide leaders in the space.
“Providing best in class tech solutions for advisers is at the heart of both companies, and the people involved in the team have created a dynamic culture that has seen them get to where they are. It feels a very natural fit for Finplan to be joining the Twenty7Tec stable of products and it’s hugely exciting for the future.”