Ryan Edwards-Pritchard, the founder of Sydney-based expense management platform Cape, has seen his entrepreneurial journey come full circle with the recent acquisition of his fintech by UK’s Anna.Money in an undisclosed valuation deal.
Having established his career in implementing regulatory changes for buy and sell side firms in the UK and leading a prominent digital marketplace for SMEs in Europe, Edwards-Pritchard ventured to Australia in 2020 in pursuit of new opportunities.
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Upon arrival, Edwards-Pritchard engaged with chief financial officers to identify market gaps, recognizing a need for innovative solutions in business spending management. He observed a broken system where employees faced cumbersome approval processes for minor expenses while larger expenditures slipped through unchecked.
Motivated to address this issue, Cape was conceptualized, offering a streamlined platform that empowers employees to spend responsibly while providing finance teams with control and oversight.
Following nine months of stealth development, Cape officially launched in September 2020. With initial bootstrap funding and subsequent support from grants and angel investors, the company secured a $3.1 million pre-seed investment in 2022, enabling the launch of a beta product.
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Shortly after the beta launch, Cape attracted interest from Anna.Money, a leading UK financial services provider known for its intuitive SME assistance tools. After seven months of negotiations, the acquisition was finalized, marking Anna.Money’s first step into the Australian market.
Under Edwards-Pritchard’s leadership, Cape will transition into Anna.Money Australia, retaining its team of seven employees. The acquisition aligns with Anna.Money’s strategy to establish a new SaaS category in Australia, offering integrated expense management and corporate card solutions tailored for small businesses.
Anna.Money plans to leverage Cape’s expertise to launch a range of financial products catering to Australia’s estimated 2.5 million small businesses across various industries. These offerings include a smart business current account, debit card, invoicing, bookkeeping, and tax assistance tools.
Co-CEO of Anna.Money, Eduard Panteleev, views the acquisition as a significant milestone in their expansion journey, positioning the company to support Australia’s vibrant business community and drive growth in key sectors such as technology, healthcare, and retail.
With Anna.Money’s extensive experience serving over 100,000 UK businesses and Cape’s successful beta program, the acquisition heralds a new era of innovative financial services for Australian SMEs.
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