L B Finance PLC sometimes spelt LB Finance, is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

non-bank financial institution A non-banking financial institution (NBFI) or non-bank financial company (NBFC) is a financial institution that is not legally a bank; it does not have a full banking license or is not supervised by a national or international banking regulator ...

. The company is incorporated in 1971 and initially, the majority of shares were held by Lewis Brown & Company. The company was listed on the

Colombo Stock Exchange The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) (; ) is the main stock exchange in Sri Lanka that utilizes an electronic trading platform. The CSE headquarters have been located at the World Trade Center (Colombo) Towers in Colombo since 1995, and it has regi ...

in 1997. In 2003,

Dhammika Perera Kulappu Arachchige Don Dhammika Perera, commonly known as Dhammika Perera (born December 28, 1967), is a Sri Lankan billionaire businessman and politician. A top corporate leader, he is one of the wealthiest people in Sri Lanka, controlling 23 li ...

acquired the company and became a subsidiary of

Vallibel One Vallibel One PLC is one of Sri Lanka's largest conglomerate companies. The company controls a chain of subsidiaries and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange since 2011. The company has controlling stakes in LB Finance, Royal Ceramics Lanka, an ...

. Currently, the company is one of the components of the

S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index The S&P SL20, or the Standard & Poor's Sri Lanka 20, is a stock market index, based on market capitalization, that follows the performance of 20 leading publicly traded companies listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The 20 companies th ...

. Brand Finance ranked the company 24th in the 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka. The company placed 39th in the ''LMD'' 100 for the financial year 2019/20.

History

L B Finance was incorporated in 1971 and in 1997 was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Initially, Lewis Brown & Company held the majority (94.9%) of the company's shares. In 1994, Vanik Corporation acquired the company and in 2003 Dhammika Perera took over the company and subsequently became a subsidiary of Vallibel One. The company became the second-largest licensed finance company. A premier customer centre was opened in

Cinnamon Gardens Cinnamon Gardens ( ''Kurundu Vaththa'', ) is an affluent neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located 3 kilometers south-east of Colombo's centre. Cinnamon Gardens is named for the former cinnamon plantation in this area. In the year 1789, there w ...

exclusively for high-value clients. The centre is geared with an

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

and luxurious setting. In January 2021, the company announced a four-for-one share split and it resulted in a 38% share price rise.

Operations

L B Finance's headquarters is located in Dharmapala Mawatha,

Kollupitiya Kollupitiya (historically known as Colpetty, administratively as Colombo 3) is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king ...

and the 100th

branch office A branch office is an outlet of a company or, more generally, an organization that – unlike a subsidiary – does not constitute a separate legal entity, while being physically separated from the organization's main office. Branching is particu ...

was opened in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

. The company is taking part in the Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System. At the 2021

SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards ''SLIM-Kantar Peoples Awards'' () is an award given to distinguished individuals involved with Sri Lanka's media brands and personalities each year. It is the joint work of Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) with Kantar Group Kantar Gr ...

, L B Finance bagged the financial service provider of the year award.

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...

affirmed A- rating for the company in September 2021 and the outlook was adjudged as stable. K Seeds Investments, a Sri Lankan boutique

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

ranked L B Finance the best performing finance company in the category of companies which asset base is greater than one billion rupees. The company has recorded a LKR1.34 billion profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2021/22, the highest among the 29 listed finance companies. L B Finance secured a US$15 million loan from FMO, a Dutch bank, to support the

small and medium enterprise Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...

sector. L B Finance donated a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

to Maharagama Apeksha Hospital during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. LB Finance bought a controlling stake in Multi Finance in 2022. LB Finance acquired 64% of the Stake in Multi Finance for LKR400 million from Fairway Holdings.

References

External links

Official website
{{All Share Price Index 1971 establishments in Ceylon Companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange Financial services companies of Sri Lanka Financial services companies established in 1971

History

Operations

See also

References

External links