The B2 Group announces PayEX-HP for payment processing

 

The B2 Group, provider of based payments, investment funds and FX automation software and consultancy solutions for transaction banks, third-party administrators, fund companies and corporates across the globe, announced today the next generation version of PayEX has been released.

 

PayEX is the B2’s payments execution application for cash and treasury management at transaction banks, especially those banks with multi-national corporate clients. PayEX integrates with existing bank IT architecture environments and coexists with incumbent systems such as OMS and core banking applications. PayEX is one of the transaction processing modules that integrates with the B2 GTS technology platform and provides a user interface for monitoring and managing payment processing to single or multiple banks and is geographically independent.

 

“Investment in our product suite is essential for B2 to keep pace with market demands. The release of PayEX-HP demonstrates our commitment to meet the requirements of our banking and corporate customers, particularly those who have a need for very large transaction volumes with maximum performance. We worked with information assurance specialist NCC Group to conduct performance testing and to confirm that our robust architectural approach met best practices to provide further assurance to our clients”, comments Phil Boland, CEO, The B2 Group.

 

With PayEX, banks are able to improve automation capabilities, and

 

- Collect payment instructions from any OMS;

- Validate and enrich payment instructions from a central point

- Automatically group instructions and route to multiple core banking systems according to transaction type

- Handle multiple file formats and exchange protocols;

- Access a granularity of transaction types within instructions, debits and credits;

- Efficiently manage complex suspense account functionality.

 

PayEX-HP takes the PayEX application to a new level and is optimised to handle very large transaction files with a high performance. NCC Group conducted performance testing against a wide range of business scenarios, including:

 

- For individual large payment files of 400,000 plus transaction; over 200 transactions per second, processed end-to-end with interfaces between core banking system and OMS

- For large numbers of smaller payments files processed in parallel; over 1,600 transaction files per minute, processed end-to-end with interfaces between core banking system and OMS.

 

“B2 Group turned to NCC Group for an independent verification of the PayEX-HP. We applied stringent criteria in our software testing environment to rigorously test the performance of the product under high volumes of transactions and also conducted an architectural review to assess the use of design best practice.” John Mundell , Group Sales Director NCC Group.

 

Existing users of B2’s PayEX application can continue to operate business as usual. The need to upgrade to the PayEX-HP version will only be relevant for users who have high transaction volumes and seek peak performance for their payments processing. For all enquiries or queries about PayEX-HP, please contact The B2 Group.

 

INEXPENSIVE CYCLICAL SECTORS MAY BENEFIT FROM AN IMPROVING STOCK MARKET

 

 Following the equity market underperformance in the third quarter of 2015, Source research suggests that some of the more cyclical sectors in the US and European equity markets may be best positioned for a market recovery in the final quarter of the year.  Source is one of the largest providers of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in Europe, and its Multi-Asset Research team is pleased to announce that it has published its latest views on equity sector strategy for the US and Europe.

 

The latest edition of the Source Sector Selector weighs up the recent market performance, with the reasons for the weakness driven primarily by concerns about global economic growth, especially with current fears around China. While acknowledging the deceleration in the Chinese economy, Paul Jackson, Head of Multi-Asset Research at Source, believes that global growth will be sufficient to allow equities, real estate and high yield corporate bonds to outperform government and investment grade bonds.

 

Jackson continued: “When we assess equity valuations, we believe it is appropriate to use different metrics for the US than for Europe.  In the US, we are focusing mostly on price-to-cashflow ratios, whereas we are emphasising dividend yield for European equities. The European market as a whole requires dividends to grow by only 0.5% per annum to justify current equity valuations. Overall, our analysis shows that banks and resource-related sectors are some of the cheapest in both the US and Europe, while defensive sectors are currently among the most expensive. Utilities, a stereotypical defensive, is also the most leveraged sector in Europe, with net debt of 3.2 relative to EBITDA.

 

Cyclical sectors that may be worth considering include consumer discretionary in the US and European media companies, as well as industrial goods and services in both markets. We also continue to favour financials in the US and Europe, where valuations and price momentum are both particularly attractive. The one exception is in the financial services area in the US, due to less compelling valuations and profitability. Where we are less positive is toward basic resources, as we remain unconvinced that the commodity super-cycle has completely unwound.”

 

Source UK Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

 

The prospectus documentation describing the products, risks and related costs of Source products are available for residents of countries where such products are authorised for sale at www.sourceETF.com

 

The products described on www.sourceETF.com are not suitable for everyone. Investors’ capital is at risk and they may get back less than they invested. Investors should not deal in these products unless they understand their nature and the extent of their exposure to risk. The value of these products can go down as well as up and can be subject to volatility due to factors such as price changes in the underlying instrument and interest rates. It is recommended that potential investors study the prospectus before investing.

 

Total Capital Partners sells its stake in Arthouse to NorthEdge Capital in a secondary buyout

 

 

Arthouse www.arthouse.com, one of the largest suppliers of wallcoverings and home decoration products to DIY multiples (including B&Q, Wilkinsons, Homebase, The Range and B&M) and independent retailers, today announced that it has completed its second management buyout.  The Rossendale headquartered company took itself independent in 2007, securing backing from the team at Total Capital Partners (“Total Capital”).  Total Capital is an independent firm that specialises in providing combined equity and debt funding for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.  Moving forward, the management team will be backed by NorthEdge Capital, which has acquired a majority stake in the business.

 

 

This marks the fourth and final exit for Total Capital’s first fund, a 2006 vintage fund that has delivered an overall return of 1.9x. In line with its differentiated approach to funding SMEs, Total Capital provided all the debt and equity needed to back the company’s first management buyout, which was led by Managing Director Anita Kenyon and three company directors in November 2007. Since then, the business has delivered impressive growth, increasing its annual turnover from £17 million to £25 million and its employee base from 37 to 65 people.

 

Since becoming independent, the management team has worked with Total Capital to diversify its product lines, sales channels and supplier base, and to expand its network of stockists internationally.

 

With the support of NorthEdge, the firm will further strengthen its presence in the UK, and expand into overseas markets, in particular the US and Middle East. It is also aiming to enhance its digital offering, and make further bolt-on acquisitions, with focus on other companies in the UK targeting overseas markets.

 

Jon Pickering, Director at NorthEdge Capital, commented: “Securing the investment in Arthouse demonstrates the skills of the team at NorthEdge in originating off-market private equity transactions and also delivering wider funding opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses across the North of England. We have also been able to make use of our extensive network who worked alongside us to support us on this transaction.”

 

“It is great to be working with Anita and the management team – they are entrepreneurially minded with a comprehensive understanding of the market in which they operate. They have clear aims and solid plans for the future, and their excellent track record means that they are ideally positioned to target growth. With recent trends indicating that the favourable economic climate has prompted renewed interest in the home furnishing and decoration sector, this is an opportune time for the team to set its plans into motion, and we are all excited to support the team on the delivery of further successes.”

 

Natalie Eastham, a founding partner of Total Capital and non-executive director of Arthouse, commented:

 

“Anita and the team at Arthouse have done a fantastic job of leading the company through its first years of independence.  During this time, the business has successfully diversified to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of interior decor solutions and has achieved an impressive level of growth.  It has laid strong foundations for future growth and we wish the company well as it embarks on the next stage of its development with new partners.  

 

“Our relationship with Arthouse very much typifies Total Capital’s approach to investment.  We are a highly selective and active investor, who works closely with incumbent management teams to develop and shape businesses as they grow – often in situations where an institutional investor is involved for the first time.  

 

“Our exit from Arthouse is all the more significant for us as it marks the fourth and final realisation from our first fund.  We are delighted with the performance of this blended debt and equity fund, which has provided our investors with an attractive alternative to the typical leveraged equity model, access to an appealing segment of the market and a swift return of capital.”

 

Anita Kenyon, Managing Director of Arthouse, commented:

 

“The investment that we have received from NorthEdge marks the next stage of development for Arthouse.  The investment and support that we received from Total Capital has enabled us to shape the business that we are today.  At the outset, they were able to tailor their financing package to our needs, offering us all the equity and debt needed to secure a majority stake in the business and ultimately creating the right capital structure to support our growth plans.”

 

Jon Pickering, Director at NorthEdge, led the deal alongside Partner Ray Stenton, Investment Manager Phil Frame, and Investment Executive Harry Jones. Jon and Harry will join the board as Non-Executive Directors.

 

Advisers:

 

Sell-side advisers: 

KPMG – Jonathan Boyers and Alex Hartley

Pinsent Masons – Helen Ridge

 

Management Advisors:

UNW - Paul Kaiser

Ward Hadaway - Katherine Hay-Heddle

 

Buy-side advisers:

DWF – Jonathan Robinson and Vicky Ross

Financial DD – Matt Copley and Bob McDermott

Commercial DD – Simon Bones