OakNorth finally delivers on M&A promise with Fluidly acquisition

Cashflow forecasting fintech Fluidly has been acquired by lender OakNorth, subject to regulatory approval.

The takeover comes nearly 18 months after OakNorth group CEO Rishi Khosla publicly stated that the lender was eyeing “synergistic” opportunities to acquire fintechs at a reasonable price.

“At a time like this, there may be great opportunities to pick up talent or certain IP at moderately sensible numbers,” he said.

Now it seems OakNorth has found one of those opportunities in Fluidly, a business that helps around 1,300 accounting firms forecast and plan cash flow and access funding options.

“This is an exciting moment for us,” said Khosla. “We have always said that we will be opportunistic in evaluating acquisitions which have a strong strategic fit with our mission. We have found that with Fluidly and look forward to welcoming the Fluidly team.”

While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Fluidly has raised around $15.5m in funding over the years, with investors including Nyca Partners, Octopus Ventures and Anthemis.

Fluidly CEO and founder Caroline Plumb said the two businesses are “strongly aligned in our mission to support SMEs”.

Through Fluidly’s accountancy relationships and digital offering, OakNorth said the takeover would help it propel its growth strategy to support even more UK SMEs.