​Cornerstone FS plc (AIM: CSFS), the cloud-based provider of international payment, currency risk management and electronic account services to SMEs, has today announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2020 – a period of significant transformation whilst navigating the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The company undertook two transformational acquisitions including acquiring FXPress and Avila House which has helped to solidify Cornerstone’s position as a fintech business focused on providing foreign currency management. It also led its successful IPO, which occurred, post period, in April 2021 and raised £2.7m.

The Group’s revenue for the 12 months to 31 December 2020 was £1.7m compared with £1.2m for the nine months to 31 December 2019, representing slight growth on a pro rata basis. This reflects a strong first half of the year being largely offset by a weaker second half due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Post period, the Group’s balance sheet was strengthened with the raising of gross proceeds of £2.2m via a placing of new ordinary shares. The Group also has access to £0.45m in convertible loan note facilities

Post year end, trading volumes have increased and the Group has continued to expand its customer base. This year, 179 new customer accounts have been opened, increasing the Group’s total number of customers to over 810, giving a strong base on which to build.

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Highlights*

·       Transformational acquisitions to position Cornerstone as a fintech business focused on providing foreign currency management:

o   FXPress Payment Services Ltd (“FXPress”), a provider of advanced payment systems as platform-as-a-service to SMEs

o   Avila House Limited (“Avila House”), a licensed small e-money institution

·       Revenue of £1.7m (2019: £1.2m)

·       Transacted payments worth over £462m (2019: £336m)

·       Onboarded 328 new clients (2019: 181)

·       Total number of clients increased to 732 (2019: 530)

·       Post period, Cornerstone was admitted to trading on AIM and raised gross proceeds of £2.7m through the placing of ordinary shares and convertible loan note facilities

* While the consolidated financial information has been issued in the name of Cornerstone FS plc, the legal parent, it represents in substance the continuation of the financial information of the legal subsidiary, FXPress. As such, the prior-period comparatives represent the results of FXPress only and are for a nine-month period commensurate with FXPress’ last accounting reference period. See ‘Basis of Consolidation’ in the notes to the financial statements for further information.

Julian Wheatland, Chief Executive Officer of Cornerstone, said:

“It is a great pleasure to present Cornerstone’s first annual results as a public company following our IPO in April 2021. Amid a year of global upheaval, 2020 was a milestone period for us; establishing Cornerstone’s foundations, making two key acquisitions and culminating, post period, in our admission to AIM. While, along with the rest of the industry, our trading volumes were impacted by COVID-19, we successfully navigated the transition to home working with no disruption to our operations or service provision.

“We have come to the market to build a significant business in the provision of technology-enabled international payment services, foreign exchange and currency risk management. While we are still at the beginning of our journey, with our strong team and highly scalable platform, we believe we are well-placed to take advantage of the meaningful organic and acquisition opportunities that will enable us to achieve this. We look forward to reporting on our progress.”