Financeit Buys Rival Home Improvement Lender Simply Group Financial

Financeit Canada Inc., a home improvement lender, has acquired its largest rival: Simply Group Financial. 

Toronto-based Financeit, launched in 2011 and acquired by InterVest Capital Partners in 2022, offers point-of-sale financing in the home improvement, recreational vehicle and retail sectors. Financeit provides contractors, retailers and dealers with a mobile app they can present to customers, which allows for the instantaneous generation of payment plan loan offers of up to $100,000. The loans are underwritten by Royal Bank of Canada, Sun Life Financial, VersaBank and EQ Bank. 

Chief executive officer Michael Garrity is committed to expanding Financeit’s market footprint, stating, “Nobody buys a house without a mortgage or a car without a loan. We think nobody should spend on big-ticket home improvement without putting it on a monthly payment plan." The acquisition of Simply Group Financial is a key milestone in Financeit’s growth journey as the combined entity will receive about 300,000 loan applications in 2023 alone. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but a confidential industry observer estimated it to be worth between $175-million and $225-million. 

Financeit has expanded at an average rate of 40 percent annually over the last three years and is poised to grow as a buy-now, pay-later financier. However, Financeit will still be selling through less than 10 percent of dealers in its sector even after incorporating Simply’s additional dealers. Mr. Garrity understands there is much work to be done, and plans to grow the core business while keeping an eye out for acquisitions.