Daily Update: Flight Centre Backs Blockskye, Bizcap Singapore Boosts SME Lending, CBC Group Merges with GHO Capital

FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP INVESTS IN $5 MILLION IN BOSTON-BASED BLOCKSKYE

FLIGHT Centre Travel Group Limited (ASX: FLT) Wednesday said it made a strategic $5 million investment in Boston-based travel technology company Blockskye, which focuses on blockchain-based payments and settlements for enterprise clients.

FLT Corporate chief executive officer Chris Galanty said they intend to integrate Blockskye’s payment capability within its technology suite in the medium term.

FCM added that it will also work with Blockskye and KAYAK in new partnership targeting the US enterprise corporate travel sector.

BIZCAP SINGAPORE ENHANCES SME LENDING LIMIT TO S$1 MILLION

Bizcap, an alternative lender, said Wednesday it is increasing its lending limit to S$1 million (US$782,000). 

In a media statement, the lender said that during the past one year since its launch in Singapore, it has facilitated more than S$40 million (US$31.5 million) in funding for Singapore SMEs and built a network with more than 300 partners. 

The company added that it also strengthened its Singapore leadership team with Gareth Tan‘s promotion to General Manager.

Bizcap further added that it is targeting more than $100 million (US$78.5 million) in funding facilitated over the next 12 months.

SINGAPORE’S CBC GROUP TO MERGE WITH LONDON’S GHO CAPITAL TO EXPAND HEALTHCARE INVESTMENTS, COMBINED AUM WILL BE AT $21 BILLION

Singapore-headquartered healthcare-focused asset manager CBC Group is merging with London-based healthcare investor Global Healthcare Opportunities (GHO), according to a joint statement, noting that the combined entity will have $21 billion in assets under management (AUM).

The transaction is expected to close in early 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The asset managers added that the new firm will have over 200 investment and operating professionals across 13 offices in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific – regions that collectively account for around 90% of global healthcare R&D spend.

The combined firm will offer investors access to private equity, private credit and real estate assets focused on healthcare and life sciences, it noted.

Existing funds and portfolio companies at each firm will continue to be managed by their respective investment teams, with no changes to investment mandates, governance or ownership, the statement added.

The new firm will be led by two of the Co-Founders of GHO and CBC. Mike Mortimer and Fu Wei will serve as Co-Chief Executives of the combined firm. Andrea Ponti and Alan MacKay will assume board responsibilities for oversight of group finance and group governance, respectively. The Board will be co-chaired by Lady Mireille Gillings, PhD, Vice Chair and Co-Founder of GHO, and by Fu Wei.

The senior management team will be joined by Michael Keyoung, MD, PhD and Hans Kang at CBC Group who will continue to lead the credit and infrastructure strategies, and Stuart Quin and Edward de Nor, co-heads of GHO’s investment team.

While CBC currently has an AUM of $10.8 billion and focuses on platform-building, buyout, credit and growth-focused opportunities across multiple core areas within the healthcare sector—including pharmaceutical and biotech, medical technology and healthcare services—GHO Capital has an AUM of $10.5 billion. It targets Pan-European and transatlantic internationalization.