ProjectiveGroup beefs up in Dutch presence with Finance Club
Pan-European financial services consulting firm ProjectiveGroup has acquired Finance Club, in a move that sees the group break through the 1,000-employee mark.
Founded in 2006 in Belgium, ProjectiveGroup provides consultancy, project management and talent solutions to financial services institutions. The firm also offers its clients access to an ecosystem of fintechs and tech-providers.
The acquisition of Finance Club is the firm’s sixth since its inception, and fourth in the Dutch market following the earlier bolt-ons of Mastermind (2021), Enigma Consulting (2022) en Charco & Dique (2022). With a headcount of around 400, Finance Club is however ProjectiveGroup’s largest purchase ever.
With Finance Club on board, ProjectiveGroup wants to better respond to the growing demand from banks for financial crime expertise. Regulations for, among other things, customer research (know your customer) and anti-money laundering compliance are becoming increasingly demanding, meaning that banks need more and expert talent.
Such expertise is scare, and as a result, banks are turning to specialist external providers for support. Founded in 2015 by two former Deloitte consultants, Finance Club provides banks with access to talent in areas such as financial crime, risk management, finance, and analytics. Among its customers are De Volksbank, Rabobank, ABN Amro and ING.
“The demand for financial crime services is growing enormously, and these roles are very difficult to fill,” said Stefan Dierckx, CEO of ProjectiveGroup. And going forward, Dierckx asserts that the demand for such expertise will only increase further as regulators intensify their push for a more transparent and ethical sector.
The deal also extends ProjectiveGroup’s offerings into the staffing market. “By blending Finance Club’s strengths in staffing solutions with ProjectiveGroup’s in-depth consulting expertise, we can position ourselves as a complete solutions provider – taking on more responsibility and serving our clients even more effectively.”
Finance Club
Finance Club has formally joined ProjectiveGroup on the 1st of September. Co-founder Michiel van Brussel: “We were ready for the next step in our journey, searching for an exciting new challenge that would propel us forward not only within Dutch borders but also on an international scale. When ProjectiveGroup approached us, it was immediately evident that our offering, culture, aspirations, and outlook for the future were closely aligned.”
Fellow co-founder Stijn van den Borne added: “Joining forces with ProjectiveGroup will create new paths for growth and opportunities both for our employees and clients.”
Further growth
ProjectiveGroup now has over 1,100 staff working across its operations in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
Backed by investor Gimv, ProjectiveGroup aims to become one of Europe’s leading financial services consultancies. CEO Dierckx told Belgian newspaper De Tijd that the firm has already set its sights on a next potential acquisition.