Danish fintech Ageras, a leading provider of accounting, banking and business software solutions for more than 300,000 European small businesses, is ready to respond to a ‘growing market appetite’ for a pan-European consolidation in the fintech and business software sector, targeting to complete 1-2 major acquisitions before a potential IPO in 2026. And according to its CEO, the company is already in ‘advanced talks’ with prospects that can fulfil its vision of becoming Europe’s largest in its industry, aiming to execute on its ambitions as early as 2024, as the publication of Ageras’ 2023 annual report shows its first-ever profitable EBITDA and continued revenue growth of 53% to support its further expansion plans:
“As a result of our transformative and strategic ‘One Company’ initiative, we grew our revenue by 53% and reached the important milestone of becoming profitable, ending the year at an EBITDA margin of +30%. This accomplishment not only validates the effectiveness of our strategic direction, but also underpins our position as a resilient player in the market. This is a unique platform for consolidation and further growth and with other European fintechs and SaaS companies having been hit in the wake of the last couple of years’ financial turmoil, we believe there is now both supply and demand for a pan-European consolidation on our platform for accounting and banking software; together we can own the niche,” says Rico Andersen, CEO and co-founder of Ageras.
A financial ‘camel ride’
According to Ageras’ 2023 annual report, the 53% revenue growth amounted to a turnover of EUR 31.7 million in a fiscal year labelled its ‘most exciting year ever’ which also included the Danish fintech’s first-ever profitable EBITDA of EUR 1.2 million. More importantly, an upward trend in Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the past five years of a similar 53% underlines that Ageras is on a stable and strong growth trajectory defying the financial environment. Thus a unique market position that serves as a clear call-to-action for other fintechs and business software companies wanting to consolidate and join the journey, Rico Andersen argues:
“Last year we spoke about Ageras being a camel, a financial term coined by Alex Lazarow. Camels can survive the scorching heat of the desert sun, sandstorms, as well as the freezing desert nights. Unlike unicorns, camels are not imaginary creatures living in fantasy worlds. They are real, resilient, and can survive in the harshest places on Earth. Our 2023 metrics and market position proved that we are mission-critical and resilient. We can survive turbulent times. It is this financial ‘camel ride’ we want to offer Europe’s fintechs and business software companies servicing SMEs with accounting, banking and tax solutions,” elaborates Rico Andersen.
Timing ‘couldn’t be better’
Earlier in the spring of 2024, Ageras raised EUR 82 million in fresh equity for new acquisitions with overwhelming commitments from the existing investor Investcorp and new investors including Norwegian state pension fund Folketrygdfondet and American asset manager Lazard. And with the European tech sector showing stabilisation and the ECB having just announced easing on interest rates, Ageras’ investors too feel confident that the timing is right for Europe’s accounting and banking software suppliers to come together to service the continents’ almost 25 million SMEs on a central platform under the Ageras brand:
“We are continuing to successfully execute our strategy to acquire and consolidate the fintechs and business software companies servicing Europe’s millions of SMEs. On the Ageras platform, they will benefit from economies of scale, cross-border reach and thus the ability to tap seamlessly into new markets across the continent, and with the macroeconomic environment easing its grip on Europe’s tech sector combined with Ageras’s unique market position, both financially speaking and concept-wise, timing couldn’t be better,” says Gilbert Kamieniecky, Head of Private Equity Europe at Investcorp, who entered Ageras as investor in 2017.
