Fintech Beeks looks to scale up after first annual results as listed company

Glasgow-based Beeks Financial Cloud Group has outlined plans for further geographic expansion and acquisitions as it unveiled its first annual results as a listed company.

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The cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, which floated on London’s Alternative Investment Market in November in a “significant milestone in [its] evolution”, said revenues in the year to 30 June increased by 41 per cent to £5.58 million.

Underlying core earnings grew by 258 per cent to just under £2m and underlying pre-tax profit grew to £1.19m from zero, with a proposed maiden final dividend of 0.3p.

The year also saw it enter new asset classes including fixed income, cryptocurrencies and equities.

Chief executive Gordon McArthur told The Scotsman that the business is “happy” with the performance of its first year as a plc.

Beeks had said in advance of its initial public offering, which raised £4.5m, that the move would enable it to enter new geographical markets by adding data centre sites.

And the firm yesterday flagged its geographical expansion into Singapore and the opening of sales offices in Shanghai and London, with its cloud hosting sites growing to 11, adding new sites in the UK capital and the US.

McArthur said further locations in Asia are under consideration. “We at the moment don’t have anything in South America so we’re evaluating [that] as well,” he added, with potential growth in Europe.

Overall, there are “quite a few locations targeted over the next 12 months and they’ll all be supported by the growth in the head office function out of Glasgow, so it will all be supported by Scotland”.

The group now employs 33 people globally, but while it continues to hire “quality” people, “our aim is to automate tasks wherever possible – from billing through to service delivery, to allow us to provide a competitive price and to build operational leverage”.

Beeks also noted that its capital raise last year enabled it to take advantage of acquisition opportunities, targeting a “respected competitor or an organisation that will add value to Beeks’ product offering”. McArthur said: “We have looked at some [opportunities] over the last six to eight months and not really found anything that meets our very specific criteria so we’ll continue that quest over the next 12 months.”

If none are found, “we’ll just continue to focus on the organic growth of the business” where Beeks sees “considerable” further potential.