Time Finance (AIM:TIME) has agreed to a recommended cash takeover by Bentley Park (UK), the parent company of specialist asset-based lender Ultimate Finance, valuing the AIM-listed lender at approximately £55.13 million.
Shareholders will receive 59.1p in cash for each Time Finance share, a premium of 12.6% to the closing price of 52.50p on 14 August, and 27.5% above the six-month volume-weighted average price of 46.34p.
Time Finance provides UK businesses with asset finance, invoice finance, business loans and asset-based lending, and reported £37.1 million of revenue and £7.9 million of pre-tax profit in the year to 31 May 2025. Its unaudited net loan book stood at approximately £218 million as of 30 June, against Ultimate Finance's £430 million, giving the combined group nearly £650 million on a pro forma basis.
Bentley Park, part of the Tavistock Group, said the deal creates a scaled, multi-product SME lending platform with complementary geographic footprints and cross-sell potential across the combined client and introducer network.
Time Finance chief executive Ed Rimmer said the board sees "a strong strategic fit between the two businesses", pointing to additional scale and resources without losing focus on customers and introducers.
Bentley Park has secured irrevocable undertakings covering 43.82 million shares, approximately 47.36% of Time Finance's issued capital, including from all Time Finance directors and shareholders Arena Investors, GPIM and Ron Russell.
The acquisition will proceed via a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, requiring approval from Scheme Shareholders holding at least 75% in value of votes cast, alongside separate shareholder resolutions.
The Scheme Document is expected within 28 days of the announcement, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Bentley Park, parent of Ultimate Finance, is acquiring Time Finance for £55.13m (59.1p per share), a 12.6% premium to the pre-announcement close. The deal combines two specialist SME lenders with complementary products and geographies, creating a combined loan book of nearly £650m; Time Finance contributes approximately £218m in net loans as of end-June 2026, while Ultimate Finance brings £430m. Completion is targeted for Q4 2026 following a Court-sanctioned scheme requiring 75% shareholder approval, with irrevocable undertakings already covering 47.36% of shares.
For Time Finance shareholders, the offer values the company at roughly 7× its most recent pre-tax profit (£8.5m for the year ended 31 May 2026), a modest multiple for a specialist lender with 15% loan book growth to £250.9m and a stated target of £300m+ by May 2028. The takeover removes the company from public markets and eliminates the opportunity to pursue that growth trajectory independently, though it provides certainty of exit at a premium to the six-month VWAP.
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Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
