PrimaryBid launches pan-European platform, Connect

By Gloria Methri

Capital markets FinTech PrimaryBid has launched its API-based B2B platform “Connect” to integrate with brokerage platforms across Europe.

With the help of Connect investment platform, wealth managers, retail brokers, and FinTechs across the continent will be able to offer IPOs, placings and bonds directly to their retail investor customers.

“The launch of Connect will enable corporate issuers and their advisers to efficiently execute on the new governance standards by accessing the broadest range of platforms and retail investors,” said James Deal, PrimaryBid’s Head of UK.

“PrimaryBid stands ready to unlock nearly ~£500 billion in retail capital for UK plc alongside our distribution partners: the PrimaryBid Connect platform is the next stage in our ambition to simplify and enhance this process.”

Connect represents a new stage of partnership with over 60 brokerage partners already signed up to PrimaryBid, including the UK platforms AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and interactive investor and several discretionary wealth managers.

In the EU, Connect was launched in collaboration with PrimaryBid’s strategic partner, Euronext, to facilitate expansion and cross border capital formation. In France, Bourse Direct, Boursorama and EasyBourse are integrated into PrimaryBid’s Connect API enabling at-scale automated distribution. Many more leading EU retail intermediaries are said to be in the process of completing integration.

For individual investors, PrimaryBid Connect brings deals directly into their chosen investment platform, maximising the use of tax-efficient wrappers such as ISAs or funds on account. Partners also have a choice over their preferred interface to PrimaryBid, including straight-through API processing for digital-first platforms.

The London-based FinTech, co-founded by CEO Anand Sambasivan in 2016, aims to democratise access to IPOs and new placings for retail investors. In February PrimaryBid raised $190 million from investors including SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 as part of its Series C funding round.