Seccl appoints Irish CEO as it expands into Europe

Embedded investment platform Seccl, headquartered in Bath, has appointed Ronan Gahan as chief executive of Seccl Ireland DAC, its newly established Irish business, as it prepares for European expansion.

The move is being driven by demand from existing customers looking to launch investment propositions beyond the UK.

Ronan brings extensive experience in the Irish financial services sector, having founded investment platform Conexim in 2010 before its acquisition by Irish Life Group in 2020. 

He also serves on the Central Bank of Ireland's Financial Industry Innovation Forum and has significant expertise in EU market entry, governance, compliance and regulation.

Ronan said: “Ireland has a strong and established financial services ecosystem and, with the proposed new Personal Investment Account (PIA) in development, there’s a clear opportunity to help more first-time investors and savers access the market – whether through established financial institutions or digital-first firms.

“To do that well requires infrastructure that can support low balances, broad asset choice and efficient operations. 

“Seccl has already proven that model in the UK, where its technology powers investments for platforms including Monzo, GoHenry and Söderberg. 

“I’m looking forward to helping bring that experience to Ireland, and to building the foundations for Seccl’s wider European ambitions.”

Seccl has also appointed former M&G and Allfunds executive Miguel Ortiz as senior adviser to support its European growth strategy.

The launch of Seccl Ireland marks the next stage of the Octopus-owned platform’s expansion. 

The business currently supports almost one million UK investors and processes around six million transactions each month.

David Ferguson, executive chair at Seccl, added: “These are the first major steps in a European journey we’ve been building towards for some time. 

“With Seccl Ireland DAC established and Ronan at the helm, we’re putting real structure behind that ambition.

“Our expansion is being shaped by existing customers that want to bring scalable investment propositions to more markets. 

“Ireland is the right place to start: it gives us a strong financial services ecosystem, a clear market opportunity and the foundations to build a repeatable model for further European expansion. 

“There’s plenty of work ahead, but the direction is clear, and the opportunity is enormous.”

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.