Finseta fell into a loss in 2025 as the cost of expanding into Dubai, Canada and corporate banking outran a 9% rise in revenue, ending a run of profitability for the foreign exchange and payments firm.

The AIM-listed company (AIM: FIN), formerly known as Cornerstone FS, reported a net loss of £1.1 million for the year ended December 31, reversing a £1.0 million profit in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA, the measure management leans on, fell to £0.2 million from £2.0 million.

Chief Executive James Hickman said the company is now winning larger corporates, citing momentum from "attracting larger corporates that have more complex requirements."

Finseta 2025 Loss Reflects B2B Pivot, Margin Decline

Revenue reached £12.4 million, up from £11.4 million, a slowdown from the 26% underlying growth posted a year earlier. The pace was largely set in the first half, when Finseta flagged a 16% jump in interim revenue.

Investment Bill Tips the Group Into the Red

Operating expenses rose to £8.9 million from £6.3 million, which the company attributed to planned investment in new markets and capabilities.

Finseta said those outlays should lift sales growth and profitability over the medium term, though it did not attach specific targets to that forecast.

Cash fell to £1.5 million from £2.6 million, and the group ended the year with net debt of £0.3 million, against net cash of £0.6 million a year earlier.

• Finseta Revenue Growth Slows to 9% as Tariff Uncertainty Weighs on FX Activity
• Finseta Continues to Add Customers: H1 Revenue Jumps 16%
• Finseta Beats Estimates with £11.3 Million Revenue in 2024

After the period closed, Finseta raised £0.9 million before expenses through a placing and retail offer priced at 8.5 pence a share, money it earmarked partly for an application to operate in Europe.

The customer base offers a mixed read. Active customers reached 1,101, up from 1,059, but the company had already hit that number by mid-year, which points to flat acquisition Acquisition Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There Read this Term in the second half. Average revenue per customer rose over the period.

Corporate Card Stumbles as Uptake Falls Short

One product Finseta promoted heavily during the year is now in question. The company took a £0.2 million impairment against its corporate card after demand came in below expectations, and it said it ran into operational problems with key suppliers to the card program. Management is now weighing how to provide the service going forward.

The card also carries a separate liability. Finseta booked a £0.1 million provision tied to €150,000 it received from a card partner to help launch the product, money it may have to repay in 2029 if it misses transaction-volume targets the company currently expects to miss.

Corporate Clients Now Carry the Business

The headline numbers mask a sharp change in who Finseta serves.

Revenue from corporate accounts rose 54% and made up 57% of the total, up from 41% in 2024. High-net-worth individuals, historically the more profitable segment, slipped to 43% from 59% as those clients pulled back on transactions the company linked to tariff-related volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term in currencies.

That mix shift explains the thinner gross margin, since corporate work pays less per trade but tends to recur.

The B2B tilt puts Finseta on the same ground as larger London-listed peers. Alpha Group reported a 34% revenue jump to £86.2 million in the first half of 2025, driven by corporate clients hedging currency risk, and is being acquired by Corpay.

Equals Group, another AIM payments name that pivoted toward business customers, was taken private after a bidding contest, part of a wider thinning of small-cap London fintech.

Where Alpha and Equals built sizeable interest income on billions in client balances, Finseta safeguarded £14.9 million of customer funds at year-end and is barred under its e-money license from passing the interest it earns back to clients.

CAB Payments, another 2023 London debutant, drew a $480 million unsolicited approach from StoneX after its shares slid, a reminder of how exposed sub-scale payments listings have become.