Global Shares wins Deal of the Year at Irish Times Business Awards

Cork-based fintech Global Shares has won Deal of the Year at The Irish Times Business Awards, held in association with Bank of Ireland, at a ceremony on Thursday held at the Round Room in the Mansion House in Dublin.

Last March, banking giant JP Morgan confirmed a deal to acquire the Clonakilty-based business in a move worth $730 million (€665 million), making it one of the largest exits by an Irish fintech.

The deal was completed in August 2022.

Founded in 2005, Global Shares has a client base of about 650 corporate clients that range from early-stage start-ups to mature multinational public corporations. The firm has nearly $200 billion in assets under administration across more than 800,000 corporate employee participants. It employs more than 600 staff and is headquartered in Cork, with 20 locations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Asia Pacific.

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Originally operating as a low-margin service business. under the stewardship of Tim Houstoun it has transitioned to becoming a leading global provider of employee share management products.

Before the acquisition, Global Shares had been weighing a flotation in 2024, a point at which Mr Houstoun predicted the company would be worth $1 billion.

Motive Partners was the company’s largest shareholder after taking a 40 per cent stake in the business in 2018 in a $25 million deal. Other backers included IFG founder Richard Hayes and his family, Duke House Investments, which is led by property investor Robert Neill, and Carrig Glen Investments, a Jersey-based vehicle. More than 500 employees are also expected to gain from the sale.

The State was also a winner as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) was a backer of Motive.

“We are tremendously excited to partner with JP Morgan and to continue on our journey of being a leading player in equity incentive services,” Mr Houstoun said at the time. “Together we will accelerate the expansion of our business globally as well as the range of services we offer to our clients and their employees.”

The company generated revenues of more than €31.5 million last year, accounts filed in December revealed, up from just under €19 million in 2021.