Shannon Weaver brings big ambitions as he settles in at the helm of Australian Finance 360, the latest majority acquisition in Aussie private equity firm Recludo Group's portfolio.
Recludo – which works by acquiring a majority stake in smaller brokerages, helping them scale with added capital and ultimately positioning them for a resale – recently snapped up the boutique mortgage brokerage for an undisclosed amount. Melbourne-based Weaver was quickly recruited to the team to act as chief executive officer, as AF360 Founder David Le steps back from day-to-day operations.
"After speaking with the founder, I realized how ambitious and energetic he was about the industry and getting the right people in. That really drew me to the role," Weaver told Australian Broker. "But also, the company and envisioning what I can bring to the table to help them get to that next level."
That includes growing AF360 from its current position of roughly $10 million in settlements a month to between $50 and $70 million in settlements in the next three years.
"Our aim is to not just make it bigger, but more valuable," said Weaver, who officially started with AF360 earlier this month. "The changes will be to try and make the firm more efficient than anything else: Get in there and work out, what's work, what's not and how we can take it to the next level. David and the team have done a great job of getting the business to where it is today. And now, it's about taking it to the next level. Not just getting it bigger, but also more efficient.
"And we really want to bring a personal banker focus to our clients and help create a lifestyle with them," he continued. "We're not trying to help them with just one transaction. We're trying to help them for the rest of their life, coming up with a plan to help them achieve their financial goals for the future."
In the short term, Weaver said he will spend about 50% of his time writing loans, while devoting the rest of his time to supporting brokers and staff with reorganization and growth efforts.
"And then, over time, in the next 12 months, as we grow the team and we start achieving our short- and long-term goals, then I will step out and be more on the CEO side," he said.
AF360 currently works across residential and investment properties, asset finance, commercial and high-net-worth individuals.
Weaver, meanwhile, brings more than two decades of experience in the mortgage and finance industries to the table. Most recently, he served as national broker development manager at Empower Wealth. His resume also includes stints at Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ, GE Capital, Reventon, Freedom Property Investors and more.
In addition to the team at AF360, Weaver said he was attracted to Recludo's business model.
The private equity firm – which was founded in 2024 by Tim Brown, Ash Playsted, Tom Roche and Jon Corney – has a loan book of more than $1 billion. In its first year, Recludo laid out plans to supercharge approximately 50 brokerages in five years. Then in May, former Fintelligence CEO Chris Slater joined the team as Recludo's head of strategic growth.
"Part of what Recludo brings to the table, and why businesses are choosing to use this model, is that they've got a true tried and tested model: they bring in the processes and the systems in the background to help deliver those ambitious goals to these founders," Weaver said. "And they really push them to the limits and work out where they can gain those efficiencies."
