VC fund Octopus is to grow its shareholding in embedded investment platform Seccl as co-founders Dave Harvey and Hugo Thorman depart the business.
Octopus acquired Seccl in 2019 - while still pre-market - providing strong financial backing and allowing it to accelerate its technology investment. Since then, the firm has developed a number of API-based embedded custody and investment products and digital tax wrappers for the savings and pensions market.
In 2022, Seccl welcomed David Ferguson as its new CEO - previously founder and CEO of Nucleus Financial Group, the Edinburgh-based financial adviser platform that he led to £20bn in assets under administration (AUA), prior to its £145m acquisition.
Harvey says the firm is in good hands: “I started Seccl with the belief that change was desperately needed and having taken that idea from its humble beginnings in a garden shed to where the company is today, it feels the right time to step away. Under David’s leadership and with an experienced and now well embedded senior team, I know that the company is in safe hands - and have every faith that it will continue to flourish.”
Ruth Handcock, chair of Seccl and board member of Octopus Group, describes Seccl as a "once-in-a-generation business".
"Octopus was convinced of its potential back in 2019 when we first acquired the business - and is all the more convinced today, after watching the company continue to grow from strength to strength over the past four years," she says. "With David at the helm, supported by the executive team that he has built over the last year or so, the company is perfectly positioned to win - and we at Octopus are with them for the journey.”