Prior to NCC’s formation, its principals formed three other companies in the financial services industry and began the SEM process for each one of them. These companies are currently in pre-consolidation phases of the SEM process and within a 1-2 quarter window of the merger closing event.
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Equipoint Financial Network, Inc. is an Newcastle portfolio company headquartered in Auburn, California. It began operations in December, 2003 with the consolidation of two major California mortgage banking firms a mortgage brokerage firm with approximately $37 million in revenues. The initial merger was funded with over $1 million of capital from private equity investors, 70% of whom are principals and financial industry professionals.
Equipoint’s revenues dipped to about $15 million during 2004 due to market conditions that negatively impacted the refinance sector causing a decline in revenues and profits. The company recovered to $24 million in 2005 at near breakeven operations. This recovery was largely due to the commitment and resolve of the small business owners to the SEM process and the experience of the management team.
In the fourth quarter of 2006, Equipoint successfully completed an acquisition of a 65-branch broker network which is expected to more than double current banking revenues.
Prior to January 1, 2007, Equipoint Financial Network, Inc. was Axio Financial Services, Inc.