Freedom Finance Holdings Limited has been acquired by Target Group - SOF Annex Fund

JZ International and the managing shareholders of Freedom Finance Holdings Limited, UK’s largest personal loan broker, have sold the company to Target Group, an investee company of the SOF Annex Fund (SOF). Financial details of this transaction have not been disclosed.

Freedom Finance Holdings Limited was founded by Rupert Webb in 1983 and offers secured and unsecured loans. The company's Managing Director, Nicola Georgiou, said: “We have very ambitious growth plans for the business and SOF are the right shareholders to help us achieve those targets." He added: "The diverse portfolio of SOF companies offer us valuable partners with which to expand into other areas of financial services using our unique sourcing platform. We have already identified a number of exciting opportunities and are looking forward to this new growth phase.”

The SOF Annex Fund is managed by SOF Investments Limited, a private equity fund manager focused on investing in businesses in the financial and business services sectors. Lindsey McMurray, managing partner of SOF Investments, said: “Freedom Finance and the team led by Nicola Georgiou certainly have these qualities and we’re excited about working together to build a business that delivers market-leading products and services to create long-term sustainable success.”

JZ International is an industrial holding investment group that specializes in investing in and growing small to medium-sized businesses in partnership with founders and entrepreneurs.

Oaklins Cavendish, based in the UK, advised the shareholders of Freedom Finance on the sale of the business.