CRIF, a global company specialising in credit bureau, business information and credit solutions, has announced today the acquisition of Vision-Net, a leading provider of business information based in Dublin. Vision-Net, a high-standing company operating in a competitive and sophisticated market, provides immediate access to credit reports and business information on every company in Ireland and the UK. Established in 1991, its extensive client portfolio includes some of Ireland’s leading corporate companies across the financial services, legal and accountancy sectors, as well as listed companies, public sector bodies, multinationals and indigenous SMEs.
CRIF has been operating in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland for many years, supporting a variety of players including financial institutions, insurance companies and other organisations with innovative decision support systems, analytics and software solutions.
Through this acquisition, CRIF aims to further consolidate its footprint in the region, delivering value-added services and innovative solutions to the market. By combining its global offering and worldwide expertise with the excellence and unique positioning of Vision-Net, CRIF is committed to supporting customers in meeting their goals with an even wider range of innovative products and services, ranging from risk management to business development and compliance.
Vision-net Managing Director, Christine Cullen, will continue in her role and lead the business in Ireland. She will work alongside CRIF’s Regional Director for the UK and Ireland, Sara Costantini in implementing CRIF’s new Irish business strategy.
Thanks to this acquisition, CRIF will become a unique and reliable player, offering Irish financial institutions and companies its comprehensive information assets and know-how. CRIF and Vision-Net will be able to support financial and business organisations even more in performing risk assessments, reducing transaction costs and investments, and speeding up market exploration. Armed with a concise credit profile of customers and business partners, organisations are able to assess a partner’s creditworthiness, and find out information about any company and its stakeholders.
“Our vision is built on developing new partnerships to strengthen what we offer to our clients and anticipate market needs. By combining the strength of CRIF’s global know-how and experience with Vision-Net’s distinctive expertise, we will help our clients to seize new opportunities and open up new possibilities for growth and innovation”, said Carlo Gherardi, President and CEO of CRIF.
“I am very happy about this acquisition, because CRIF and Vision-Net share common values and drivers, in particular the strong commitment to customer care, data quality and trust in order build solid relationships with our clients. Our distinctive value proposition lies in the development of our synergies, Vision-Net’s in-depth understanding of local needs, and CRIF’s global expertise. This makes it possible to take a further step forward to what I regard as a very strategic market, while also considering the current European context”, commented Sara Costantini, Country Director of CRIF in the UK & Ireland.
Speaking at the announcement, Christine Cullen, Managing Director of Vision-Net, said: “Vision-net has built an exceptionally strong business in Ireland over the last 26 years, and we are now excited to position the company for further growth, with the support of our new partners, CRIF.
“Our company is innovation-led and delivering a high-quality service to our clients is our top priority. CRIF is one of the world’s leading fintechs and most importantly, shares our same values, culture and ambitions for the business.
“Being part of the CRIF family positions Vision-net to further enhance our product offering and thereby to continue to deliver innovative, unrivalled analysis for our customers.”
About Vision-net.ie
Vision-net.ie is the leading independent business intelligence and risk agency in Ireland. The company works to provide comprehensive information that informs better decision making. This includes unrivalled analysis and reporting on companies, sole traders and directors in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK, plus detailed analysis, research, judgment data and credit ratings.
Vision-net.ie maintains a comprehensive database of business indices for every single Irish company and business. This includes up-to-date information on almost 596,000 companies and almost 582,000 business names and sole traders. For more information visit www.vision-net.ie
