Moneybookers named UK’s fastest growing private equity-backed company

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Moneybookers awarded first place in Deloitte Buyout Track 100 based on profit growth

  • Follows record year of achievements including:
  • Signing up 10 millionth customer to Moneybookers eWallet (64% growth year-on-year)
  • Surge in eCommerce transaction volume by 120%
  • Doubling of deposits in customer accounts
  • Increased staff headcount by over 150 to 400
  • Online merchant base extended from 35,000 to 60,000 including major names such as eBay.com, Playfish, Skype and Thomas Cook

Moneybookers – one of Europe’s largest payments companies and one of the world’s leading eWallet companies – has been named the fastest growing private equity-backed company by The Deloitte Buyout Track 100.

The Buyout Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s 100 private equity-backed companies with the fastest-growing profits (EBITDA). The award is recognition that, while the overall industry has been struggling, Moneybookers has continued to outperform the market – the company is signing up 13,000 new customers a day for its services. Profits grew 177% in a year to £13.9 million in 2008 (on which the Buyout Track is based).

Growth has continued into 2009, as Moneybookers eCommerce transaction volumes surged by 120% compared to a global trend in overall online transaction volume of only 15% growth.* These significant achievements follow an impressive year of growth for the company, resulting in an increase in staff headcount since the start of 2009 from 249 to 400 employees.

The company also widely extended its online merchant base from 35,000 to over 60,000 online shops which integrated its payment system, including eBay.com, Playfish and Thomas Cook. In addition, individual customers are making increasing use of their eWallets, with the number of deposits doubling within the last 12 months.

Moneybookers has also made new investments, including the launch of a Mastercard-backed payments card which enables users to make payments from their Moneybookers accounts in high street retailers. The company has also expanded with substantial investments into the US.

Martin Ott, co-chief executive, said:

“The crisis has made us stronger. While other companies have significantly cut spendings we have increased our investment in future growth. The high growth of our business has again been recognised and we are confident that we will build on this momentum in 2010. This award is a testament to the popularity of the Moneybookers eWallet, now used by over ten million customers and whose ease of use and security benefits are attracting over 13,000 new customers every day”.

Merchants and customers alike benefit from Moneybookers’ highly competitive offering which includes a fully integrated worldwide banking network, with over 80 local payment options in more than 200 countries, all with low transaction fees. In addition, Moneybookers has market-leading security and risk management expertise, which protects customers’ personal data and offers merchants charge-back protection.

Nikolai Riesenkampff, co-chief executive, added:

“Our merchants are benefitting from a substantial increase in use of the product, with deposits doubling over the past year and impressive increases in customer conversion rates. Our payment service for business customers comes with industry-leading security and fraud prevention measures. With Moneybookers not only consumers but also merchants can feel secure due to our charge-back protection.”

Buyout Track 100 success follows a recent number of prestigious awards including the 6th fastest-growing and the most profitable IT company in the Tech Track 100 and the 2009 Media Momentum Awards, where Moneybookers won the Best Execution and Judges’ awards.

For further information, please contact:

Fishburn Hedges Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 4321
Michelle James moneybookers@fishburn-hedges.co.uk
James Gordon-MacIntosh

Notes to editors

* source: IDC 2007

About Moneybookers

Moneybookers is one of Europe’s largest online payments systems and among the world’s leading eWallet providers with over ten million account holders. The simple eWallet enables any customer to make online payments conveniently and securely without revealing personal financial data, as well as to send and receive money transfers cost-effectively simply by using an email address. Moneybookers’ worldwide payment network offers businesses access to over 80 payment options in over 200 countries through just one integration. More than 60,000 merchants use Moneybookers’ payments service, including global partners such as eBay.com, Skype and Thomas Cook.

Moneybookers was founded in 2001 in London and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom.

In February 2010, The Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100 league table ranked Moneybookers as the Number 1 fastest growing private equity-backed company in the UK based on profits. This followed its September 2009 naming in The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table as the sixth fastest growing technology company in the UK based on sales growth. Moneybookers was also recognised for the quality of its management, international expansion and growth strategy with two awards at the 2009 UK Media Momentum Awards.

For more information, see www.moneybookers.com

You can also follow Moneybookers on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moneybookers