Time Finance has agreed to a £55.1m takeover by Bentley Park, the parent company of specialist asset-based lender Ultimate Finance. The deal will create a combined net loan book of nearly £650m and is set to deliver a significant premium to Time Finance shareholders.
Deal terms and shareholder premium
Under the transaction, Time Finance shareholders will receive 59.1p per share in cash. This represents a premium of around 12.6 per cent to the closing share price on Friday and a 23.5 per cent premium to the volume weighted average price for the three-month period ended August 14.
Shares in Time Finance climbed as much as 10.5 per cent on the news on Monday, reflecting investor approval of the deal.
Strategic fit and growth ambitions
Ed Rimmer, chief executive of Time Finance, said: "The Time Finance board has spent a great deal of time considering the offer from Ultimate Finance. Over the course of our discussions with the Ultimate Finance team, it became clear very early on that they genuinely respect what the Time Finance teams have built and that we share a lot of mutual ambitions for the continued growth of the business going forward."
Time Finance, headquartered in Bath with offices in Manchester, Warrington and Reading, is a non-bank alternative finance company providing UK businesses with flexible funding facilities including asset finance, invoice finance, business loans and asset-based lending. Founded in 1998 as 1pm Plc, the firm has recorded organic growth in its lending book for 20 consecutive quarters to May 31, 2026.
Mr Rimmer added: "The Time Finance board believes there is a strong strategic fit between the two businesses, the combination of which will create a broader platform, introduce the benefits of additional scale and provide additional resources that can support future growth, without losing the focus on customers and introducers that have made our business great in the first place."
Combined platform and market impact
It is understood Bentley Park's interest in the acquisition is driven by the opportunity to create a larger multi-product UK SME lending platform. Ultimate Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bentley Park founded in 2002, has offices in London, Edinburgh, Lutterworth, Leeds and Manchester. The company had an unaudited net loan book of £430m at the end of June 2026.
Josh Levy, chief executive of Bentley Park and Ultimate Finance, described the deal as "an exciting opportunity" to bring together two specialist lenders with "a common focus on supporting UK SMEs".
"We believe Time Finance is a strong strategic fit for Ultimate Finance, combining a relationship-led approach, talented people and deep expertise, while creating opportunities to build on innovation and development using a genuine 'best of both' approach," he said.
"This acquisition would create a larger, more scalable specialist lending platform with broader capabilities, greater resources and the ability to support more businesses across a wider range of funding needs," added Mr Levy.
"We are excited about the opportunity this creates for our clients, introducers and employees of the combined group, while remaining focused on the long-term relationships and service that have underpinned the success of both businesses."
The transaction is expected to be implemented through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement and will be subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
