Finexia appoints Factory Capital CEO to board following cornerstone investment

Finexia appoints Factory Capital CEO Daniel Ritchie to board as non-executive director
Appointment follows $3.73 million investment from Factory Capital into non-bank lender
Ritchie has extensive experience in financial services, investment management and strategic leadership

Special Report: Finexia Financial Group, a non-bank lender in private credit, has announced that Daniel Ritchie, CEO of investment management firm Factory Capital, has joined the board as a non-executive director.

Ritchie’s appointment follows the announcement in August of Factory Capital’s cornerstone ~$3.73 million investment in Finexia Financial Group (ASX:FNX) through a two-tranche placement of 12,460,713 fully paid ordinary shares at $0.30 each.

Following approval of the second tranche at Finexia’s recent AGM, Factory Capital owns ~19.99% of the company’s issued share capital.

Finexia said Mr Ritchie brings to our Board extensive executive and Board-level experience in financial services, investment management, and strategic leadership..

The Company said, as the CEO of Factory Capital Ritchie established himself as a dynamic leader with a proven track record of delivering sustainable growth and shareholder value. Before joining Factory Capital, he had a distinguished 12-year tenure at Macquarie Bank, where he held several senior roles, including Co-Head of Global Equities, Head of Global Research, and Head of Australian Equities. In these roles, Mr Ritchie led a team of 400 professionals across 12 countries.

His deep industry knowledge and expertise in navigating global capital markets are seen to be invaluable to Finexia as it continues to execute its growth strategy and expand its presence in the private credit and funds management space.

Scaling private credit operations

Funds raised from the placement to Factory Capital are being used to further scale Finexia’s private credit operations, with a distinct focus on strengthening its distribution and financial management capability.

Listed on the ASX in 2015 as a securities dealer, Finexia has, over this time, pivoted and evolved its strategy towards the lending sector.

The company said it had made the decision to divest its equities business and exclusively focus its business strategy on private credit.

Targeting opportunities that major banks have traditionally dominated but have recently abandoned, Finexia aims to become the leading non-bank lender to the childcare sector in Australia.

Finexia’s income generated through lending activities grew by 51% to $11.37m in FY24, marking the strategic pivot to private credit.

Strengthening governance framework and leadership

Finexia said the appointment of Mr Ritchie to the board strengthened the company’s governance framework, leadership team and enhanced capability to deliver on its vision of becoming a leader in the private credit and fund management markets.

“His strategic acumen and strong leadership background make him an excellent addition to our team,” chairman Neil Sheather said.

“We look forward to his contributions as we focus on delivering long-term value for our shareholders.”

Ritchie said he was excited to join the Finexia board at such a pivotal time in the company’s journey.

“I look forward to working closely with the board and management team to help drive the company’s strategic objectives and deliver exceptional outcomes for its stakeholders,” he said.

This article was developed in collaboration with Finexia Financial Group, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.