Dr Gerhart Huber, chief executive of Internet financial services group Enba, caught in the light from a projector during his briefing in Dublin yesterday on the latest phase in the bank's financial planning. Photograph: Frank Miller
Enba, the Dublin-based holding company for European Internet-only financial services, has raised €45 million (£35 million) in its second round of financing. Enba had offers of funding of more than twice what it was seeking, following strong interest from a range of international investors.
The level of interest in the company, which has yet to be launched officially, has spurred Enba to expand its business more quickly than originally intended.
The company, in co-operation with its French banking partner, has been open for business on a limited basis in Britain since mid-August, but a major brand-building campaign is planned to develop the service in France and Germany by the middle of 2000. Spain and Italy are targeted for development the following year.
The latest round of investment has come from a number of "big name" investors - an intentional move designed to raise consumer awareness within Europe. They include Capital Z Financial Services, a private equity fund specialising in financial services, CGU, Britain's largest life and general insurance group, and Morgan Stanley International, part of US financial services firm Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Enba raised €13.2 million (£15 million) in its first round of financing, and the existing investors, including Intel, have also participated in the second round funding.
Mr Gerhard Huber, chief executive of Enba, would not reveal the size of investors' stakes, but said they were proportionately equal, and the latest round of finance had eroded the founding management team's majority holding in Enba to a "significant" stake.
By the end of next year, Enba estimates it will have 200,000 customers on board, following quarterly spends on development, marketing and advertising of between €7 million and €10 million Enba, which has been earmarked for an early stock market flotation since its inception, may now choose to continue with further private rounds of funding, according to Mr Huber.
Enba's Dublin headquarters' workforce has grown very rapidly in the last year to 120. It now plans to recruit up to 300 additional employees, and the business is expected to move shortly to a larger premises.
Enba, in co-operation with French bank, Banque d'Escompte, is offering its first Internet-based banking service initially to British customers. Users will be able to conduct online multi-currency transactions, and avail of broking, cheque and money market services and debit cards.
Mr Huber says Enba will attract customers through lower charges, and higher deposit interest rates. It will offer a 5.92 per cent annual interest rate on British savings, which beats the 5.75 per cent currently offered by Prudential's Egg on its Internet-only deposits - the highest in the market. While the direct retail service will account for 60 per cent of Enba's business, a further 20 per cent may go through indirect channels, where Enba provides Internet-based financial services.
