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Queensland-based brokerage Loanezi has been sold back to its founder Renee Tocco less than two years after it was sold to Prospa.
Renee Tocco, Prospa’s former regional manager for the northern region, has left the company and bought back her commercial brokerage, Loanezi, in a full reversal of the initial sale, assets, and sale price. The transaction sum has not been disclosed.
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Ms Tocco had sold Loanezi to Prospa in 2021 and joined the SME lender at that time as its regional manager for NSW, ACT, and Queensland.
At the time, the SME lender said that the move would help the company target northern NSW and Queensland for future growth, adding it represented “a really big opportunity for [Prospa] to really expand [its] service offerings and think about who we are and what we are to that part of the market”.
However, after identifying growing “opportunity” in the commercial broking space, Ms Tocco has now reacquired the brokerage and left Prospa (effective 23 February) to re-enter the broking industry.
Speaking to The Adviser about the move, Ms Tocco said: “I am an entrepreneur, and ultimately, I always knew I would end up back running my own business at some stage.
“Working for Prospa was extremely rewarding and also eye-opening to the enormous opportunity ahead in the industry. I was committed to achieving the goals the company wanted me to contribute to, and once that was done, I felt it was a good time for me to move on.
“I always loved my brand Loanezi, and naturally I thought it was amazing. However, since selling it, I realised how remarkable the brand was; SEO with that brand was organically terrific, amazing client testimonials and loyalty, highly regarded and well known.
“I did consider starting a new brand, or building on my other brand EziICT (a small ticket equipment finance company to equipment resellers in the B2B space), however I asked Prospa if they would consider selling it back to me as my ideal outcome, and they were very kind to accommodate that for me.”
The Loanezi managing director added that she was particularly excited about rejoining the commercial broker space as she could see “opportunity ahead”.
“I believe the commercial lending space will have a boom period, just like what mortgage brokers experienced around two decades ago. We still have a lot of education needed for SMEs to know all the financial offerings and support available to help them grow and survive. Plus, we still have a huge market opportunity for brokers to take more wallet share, as to date, the majority of overall business lending is still with the banks directly,” Ms Tocco said.
Ms Tocco forecast that business lending was “about to climb and continue on a steep upward trajectory” as a result of a “delayed response of the inevitable post-COVID-19 economic impact”.
“I was itching to be part of this anticipated boom, be at the coalface again, so that I could help educate and support as many SMEs as possible,” she said.
The Loanezi managing director added that she hoped to become “one of Prospa’s top partners” as she builds her brokerage forward and merges the EziICT company back under the Loanezi brand.
“I love the Prospa brand and products, and I can testify firsthand of the incredible service and customer care they put into every single client they engage with. The values around customer service and making it quick and easy for the business clients align perfectly with Loanezi’s values,” she said.
“Thank you to all the partners who welcomed myself and my Prospa team into their businesses to work out strategic ways for us to partner together better. I am in awe of the expertise and talent we have in the business lending sector.”
Ms Tocco also thanked the partners who have supported her transition over the past week, adding: “I love the attitude of successful firms who know very well that there is more than enough business for everyone, and who want to pay it forward.
“This space of finance is not a battle of broker against broker, it is a joint mission of educating SMEs on all the finance offerings available to help them grow, expand and survive. Kindness has always been my superpower, and I am so grateful that I have received it back unexpectedly tenfold.”
Commenting on the transaction, Roberto Sanz, Prospa’s national sales manager, said: “Renee is an entrepreneur, and has always been passionate about running her own business. We recognised the best way to support Renee to achieve her career goals was for her to reacquire Loanezi, the sale of which will be finalised shortly, and wish Renee the best of luck as she begins this new chapter of her career.”
Mr Sanz said that Prospa’s state-based teams would continue to service Prospa’s Queensland and NSW partners while the lender commences a recruitment process.
“At Prospa, our one-team approach extends to our partners, who are key to our success,” he added.
“Prospa highly values our broker channel and empowers our partners to start meaningful conversations about cash flow and finance with their SME clients, and nurture their roles as trusted advisers.”
[Related: Prospa acquires brokerage]
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