Co-Pilot acquires Loanezi as it targets 100 Australian agencies

Co-Pilot Finance and Insurance has acquired Queensland brokerage Loanezi as the SME finance franchise network pursues national expansion. The purchase brings an established brand and referral network into a business that has built 15 agencies over two years and is targeting 100 across Australia.

Loanezi deal includes brand and digital assets

According to The Adviser, Co-Pilot Finance and Insurance, known as CPFI, acquired Loanezi from its founder and managing director, Renee Tocco. The transaction was completed in September 2026 for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition includes Loanezi’s brand, intellectual property, database and digital assets. It also secures the brokerage’s referral network, making the deal more than a purchase of a trading name.

Those elements give CPFI an existing business platform to work with as it develops its national presence. Rather than replacing the acquired identity immediately, CPFI plans to retain the Loanezi brand while widening the range of products available to its customers.

The distinction matters for Australia’s franchising community: this is an acquisition of an established brokerage within a broader expansion programme, rather than an announcement of a new franchise opening. The purchase has been completed, while the next steps for operating and developing the business remain part of CPFI’s plans.

Head office will manage the initial transition

CPFI intends to run Loanezi centrally during the initial ownership period. That approach is designed to give its team time to understand the customer base and how the acquired business operates before making a potential transition to a Gold Coast agency.

The Gold Coast move is therefore a possibility, not a confirmed agency handover. In the meantime, head office will be responsible for running the acquired business.

Keeping Loanezi’s identity while initially managing it centrally separates two parts of the transition: the brand customers recognise and the operating arrangements behind it. CPFI’s stated approach allows it to preserve the former while getting to know the latter.

For prospective franchisees, that sequence is worth noting. The announcement does not describe an immediate opportunity to take over Loanezi. It sets out a staged ownership plan, beginning with central management and leaving open a later agency transition.

A national ambition beyond the current network

Founded by George Dib and Peter Magoulias in North Sydney, CPFI has established a network of 15 agencies over two years. Its target of 100 agencies nationally represents a substantially larger footprint than its current operation.

The company is also planning a future capital raise to support its next phase of growth. That is a planned funding step, rather than capital already secured through the Loanezi transaction.

The acquisition and the agency target are connected by CPFI’s expansion ambitions, but they are different measures of progress. Loanezi adds an existing brand, customer database and referral relationships; the 100-agency objective describes the scale CPFI ultimately wants its network to reach.

Reading those developments separately provides a clearer picture of the announcement. CPFI has completed a specific acquisition, has an established agency base and has outlined ambitions for further network growth and funding.

Broader product access is part of the plan

CPFI offers asset finance, business finance and insurance through its agency network. Its plan for Loanezi is to expand the products available to the brokerage’s customers while retaining the acquired identity.

That makes the customer proposition a central part of the deal alongside geographic expansion. CPFI is not simply adding a Queensland name to its portfolio; it intends to connect that business with a broader product offering.

For Australia’s finance franchising community, the story brings together acquisition-led growth, brand retention and a staged operating transition. The next developments to watch are how Loanezi’s product offering changes, whether the proposed Gold Coast agency transition proceeds and how CPFI advances its national network target.

Practical takeaway: Prospective agency owners should distinguish completed acquisitions from future recruitment opportunities, and ask how customer relationships, product access and head-office support would work before assessing a potential agency transition.