Salary Finance acquires Neyber, creating UK’s largest employee financial wellbeing platform

Global workplace finance platform Salary Finance has acquired Neyber in a deal completed on 9 March.

The acquisition creates the UK’s largest employee financial wellbeing platform. Salary Finance will now serve 500 client partners and reach 3 million employees. The client combined portfolio includes 15% of the FTSE 100 and many household name employers, such as BT, Dixons Carphone, Virgin Active, Co-op, Asda and public sector organisations including NHS Trusts and Police Forces.

As a result of the acquisition, 1 in 10 UK employees will now be able to access Salary Finance financial wellbeing solutions through their employer.

The acquisition was structured as a pre-pack administration, with Neyber assets acquired by Salary Finance and staff transitioned under TUPE.

The acquisition of Neyber, which was founded in 2014, will create a larger scale operation benefitting from expertise within both organisations.

Salary Finance will now provide the broadest set of employee financial wellbeing products in the market, including salary-linked savings and investments, loans, on-demand access to pay, protection insurance (income and critical illness cover) and financial education. In partnership with Nest and HMRC, Salary Finance also provides a pension savings sidecar product and access to HMRC’s Help to Save product linked to payroll.

Police Mutual will join Salary Finance as a new investor as part of the acquisition. Goldman Sachs, another former Neyber investor, has also joined Salary Finance as an investor.

Existing investors Blenheim Chalcot and Legal & General continue to invest in and support the business. Salary Finance also operates across the US, where Goldman Sachs is well positioned to support business growth.

Asesh Sarkar, Salary Finance Co-founder and Global CEO, commented: “We are delighted to welcome the Neyber team and clients to the Salary Finance community, and thank the Neyber founders Martin Ijaha and Monica Kalia for building such a strong team and helping to create a category that hundreds of employers credit with helping the lives of their staff.

“The Salary Finance mission is to help millions of employees around the world become financially healthier and happier. The Neyber acquisition, and the additional scale that gives us, takes us several steps forward in achieving our mission. We are excited to get to know and work with our new colleagues and clients.”

The transaction marks a milestone in this high growth sector and enables Salary Finance to invest further in product innovation to expand on the existing product set – an aim central to the firm’s goal to create the best solutions for improving employee financial wellbeing.

Research shows employers are increasingly focused on employee wellbeing, but that 36 per cent of UK workers have money worries directly impacting their performance at work. In fact, Salary Finance research shows that those with money worries are 14 times more likely to suffer from sleepless nights and four times more likely to be suffering with depression and anxiety.

Asesh added: “Salary Finance addresses a social problem, and market failure, where 40 per cent of UK employees have no savings, and over six million employees have been refused a high street loan, leaving them little option but to take high interest debt. We address this issue at scale, with products which are better value and create better financial habits, such as auto savings-linked directly from pay.”

Salary Finance loan customers typically save £600 in interest, they pay off their debts six to 12 months sooner and see a five to 10 per cent increase in their credit score.

Neyber’s existing customers should continue to make loan repayments in line with their existing agreements, if any action is required they will be contacted by a representative of Salary Finance.