Appital launches new trading fintech
UK-based fintech Appital is building a new financial technology platform to unlock liquidity in global capital markets.
The platform was co-founded in mid-2018 by CEO Mark Badyra and CTO Pete Correia. Badyra worked in capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and at UBS, whilst Correia was head of technology at Fathom, creating solutions for clients such as Commerzbank, AlixPartners, Access Fintech, Aimia Inc and the GSMA.
“Our first product will allow corporate and institutional firms within the debt and equity capital markets to exchange illiquid equity without the need for an investment bank or broker,” says Mark Badyra, CEO at Appital.
The platform will open up deal flow
Appital aims to enable complex trades to be completed in hours rather than weeks and provide all participants with real-time transparency as deals progress.
Buying and selling in the equity and debt capital market is currently a slow and expensive business. The seller normally engages an investment bank or broker, who can only reach a limited audience of potential buyers. All deal communication is by phone and email. Deals can take weeks and fees can run to several million dollars.
It will open up deal flow beyond the traditional, established financial players to unlock liquidity held by millions of potential investors and provide an easy-to-use, efficient system that also manages all regulatory requirements.
The seller will list their equity on Appital and that alerts potential buyers, whilst adhering to regulatory frameworks and user preferences. The platform takes care of compliance, Know Your Customer (KYC) and all other regulatory processes.
The transaction is then completed automatically on the platform. The entire time to transaction is hours rather than weeks and completed without an expensive broker or investment banker.
Appital has initial primary investment and expertise from Greg Bennett, formerly of Cazenove and former head of capital markets at Fidelity International, who heads Appital’s board of advisors.
Following the completion of its £400,000 equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, Appital will complete its platform-build, gain Financial Conduct Authority approval and launch on the new OpenFin Startup Ecosystem at the end of 2019. OpenFin provides a centralised financial platform, which allows for the interconnection of financial applications.
