Fexco acquires London retail foreign exchange company

Kerry-based financial services group and ATMIA Member Fexco has announced the acquisition of London based retail foreign exchange operator Thomas Exchange Global (TEG).

The deal, done for a reported outlay of around £10 million, confirms Fexco’s position as the largest independent FX operator in the UK, with around 12% of the estimated £9 billion market.

The acquisition of TEG, which serves more than 1 million customers in London across 15 well-located branches, positions Fexco as the largest independent FX operator in the city. The deal is Fexco’s eighth successful acquisition in the UK since 2012.

Joe Redmond, youthful-looking MD of Fexco’s retail foreign exchange division, confirmed the company’s revenues are growing each year.

“We are very pleased to have acquired a business with the reputation and reach of Thomas Exchange Global, the largest London-based FX retailer,” he said.

“Fexco now holds 12 per cent of the high street foreign exchange market in the UK – a market conservatively estimated at £9billion in value.

“Following recent outages across major card schemes along with the rise in fees charged by banks when using cards abroad, customers are increasingly seeing benefits in the convenience, reliability, security, anonymity and value that foreign cash provides.

“This explains why our transactions and revenues are growing rapidly every year, and why there are more banknotes in circulation today than ever before.

“The deal confirms our belief in the future of cash and the incomparable role it plays in a balanced payments and travel money portfolio.”

In a survey of its customers, Fexco found that 90 per cent said they would be using cash in five years’ time, with only 15 per cent considering traveling without cash. It is easy to see, therefore, why the company has the confidence to make substantial investments in the FX market.