Factoring has been in the public and real sector’s focus during the long-standing period of illiquidity, somewhat during the Agrokor affair, but since payments have been brought into legal frameworks, this type of financial service is not often written about. However, this does not mean that this part of the market is stagnant, especially when it comes to ownership stakes.
At its last session, Hanfa announced that it grants consent to the company Finspot Technologies Limited, registered in Ireland, whose owners are from neighboring Serbia, for the direct acquisition of a qualified stake in the company Finspot dioničko društvo za faktoring from Zagreb.
Specifically, Hanfa received a request from Finspot Technologies Limited, with its registered office in Dublin, for the issuance of consent for the direct acquisition of a qualified stake in the company Finspot dioničko društvo za faktoring, amounting to 99.872 percent of the shares in the capital and voting rights of the Company. A request was also received from Finspot Factoring Holding Limited, also from Ireland, for the issuance of consent for the direct acquisition of a qualified stake in the Company amounting to 99.035 percent of the shares in the equity capital and voting rights of the Company, which this acquirer would acquire from Finspot Technologies Limited.
As it concerns the acquisition of shares in a domestic factoring company, in which they already had a majority – the minority co-owner of Finspot is the domestic company Escont Partners – we inquired about the reasons for purchasing the remaining shares. – Finspot d.d. has an ambitious plan to expand its factoring business into the markets of the region and the European Union, along with further digitalization and modernization of services based on European standards. Escont Partners helped launch operations in Croatia and can now focus on the Croatian market and other financial services. Escont Partners and Finspot continue to collaborate on joint projects.
Factoring as a financial service in Croatia still carries a certain reputational stigma, especially due to the Agrokor case. However, Finspot is actively working to change this perception through a fresh and transparent approach to business, emphasizing digital accessibility of services via its own web platform. This significantly facilitates access to liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is the key purpose of factoring. Additionally, in the second quarter of this year, Finspot plans to issue bonds that will be listed on the Progress market of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, further enhancing funding sources, increasing transparency, and contributing to the development of the domestic capital market – precisely explains Neven Vidaković from Escont Partners.
Thus, the essence is that Serbian-Irish co-owners want to expand into the regional market, while Escont Partners wants to focus on the domestic market, not only on factoring but also on other non-banking financial instruments that are indeed necessary in conditions of banking neglect of small and medium-sized enterprises.
– Finspot fully agrees with the statement of Neven Vidaković from Escont Partners. Factoring as a financial instrument indeed carries a certain reputational stigma in Croatia, but it represents a crucial tool for ensuring liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises. The digital transformation of factoring, which Finspot is implementing through its web platform, significantly eases access to this service and modernizes the entire process. We believe that the strategy being implemented by Finspot is precisely what is needed to change the perception of factoring in Croatia, as well as in the region, and to create a healthier business climate for small and medium-sized enterprises that often find it difficult to access liquidity. Additionally, the planned bond issuance on the Progress market of the Zagreb Stock Exchange is an excellent step towards increasing transparency and developing the Croatian capital market – stated Miljan Gudelj, director of Finspot from Belgrade, for Lider.
