MSL Solutions
MSL Solutions specialises in providing sophisticated point-of-sale (POS) solutions to help venues in Australia and internationally deliver exceptional customer service and personalised experiences.
Need
In November 2020, the business acquired SwiftPOS, adding to its portfolio of POS solutions. Prior to the acquisition, MSL Solutions required finance so that it didn’t have to use all its cash reserves to bring SwiftPOS in-house.
Solution
We provided finance for approximately 50% of the acquisition cost, which enabled MSL Solutions to get the acquisition over the line.
When MSL Solutions was preparing to acquire SwiftPOS in late 2020, the team approached Export Finance Australia for a finance solution.
Brisbane business, MSL Solutions, specialises in providing sophisticated point-of-sale (POS) solutions to help venues in Australia and internationally deliver exceptional customer service and personalised experiences. In November 2020, the business acquired SwiftPOS, adding to its portfolio of POS solutions.
Pat Howard, CEO at MSL Solutions, said that as the biggest reseller of SwiftPOS systems for some time, it made sense to bring them in-house. “We knew the product really well,” he explained. “It’s an all-in-one solution.”
“People often have a mentality that POS is a cash register, but it’s much more than that. SwiftPOS is a fantastic central point of truth for large venues and an important tool for them to drive revenue and save costs.”
Prior to the acquisition, MSL Solutions required finance so that it didn’t have to use all its cash reserves to bring SwiftPOS in-house. Being in the hospitality space and navigating the challenges of COVID-19, it needed to make sure it still had a buffer for future restrictions and lockdowns.
MSL Solutions was unable to secure support from a bank to finance the required loan. However, as MSL Solutions and SwiftPOS both have a presence overseas, he was pointed in the direction of Export Finance Australia.
After some initial discussions and a thorough application process, Export Finance Australia agreed to provide finance for around 50% of the acquisition cost. “It was ultimately a really good outcome,” Pat said.
I found them very easy to deal with. It was a different type of process, but their willingness and openness to work with businesses to make sure that they’re covered is worthwhile on both ends.
Pat Howard
CEO, MSL Solutions
Just the beginning
SwiftPOS operates in 26 countries already and, according to Pat, there are more export opportunities on the horizon now that the acquisition is over the line. “Nearly 80% of our clients are in Australia or New Zealand, but there’s an opportunity to leverage our presence in places like the US, Cyprus, Fiji and the United Arab Emirates, where we hold a small share of the market,” Pat said.
“The fact that we had these small opportunities already to use as referenceable sites was important. As travel opens, we’ll be able to get far greater traction. We believe the opportunity to grow exponentially is coming, but it'll take time.”
Pat described the support from Export Finance Australia as “extremely important”.
“I'm not sure the acquisition would have made it over the line without Export Finance Australia’s support,” he said.