Truell gets set for ambitious float of bank-backed invoicing outfit
EDMUND Truell, the head of London’s council pension fund, yesterday announced plans to float a new online invoicing venture on the junior stock market for £160m.
Truell, who has recruited brother Danny and Icap chief executive Michael Spencer as non-executive directors for the venture, has bought e-invoicing company OB10 for £99m through his Tungsten vehicle.
He said yesterday that he plans to buy a bank and merge it with OB10, rebrand the business Tungsten and float it on the Alternative Investment Market.
“I’ve been looking to buy a bank for about 10 years,” Truell told City A.M. “We’ll be listing in a about a month.” Canaccord Genuity is acting as bookrunner on the placing.
Truell will pay £30m for the bank, which has assets comprised only of short term gilts and certificates of deposits, and use it to sit in the middle of the invoicing system to speed up settlements for customers.
OB10 processed over £100bn of invoices last year and serves 122 of the world’s biggest companies.
Truell was appointed chairman of the London Pensions Fund Authority by mayor Boris Johnson in December.