Adaro Group

What Adaro Group does

Adaro Group, trading as Adaro Optics Ltd., is a UK-based vertical fintech and SaaS provider focused on the optical retail industry. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Marden, Tonbridge, England. Adaro's core offering, Adaro Direct, is a cloud-based platform that enables eye care professionals (ECPs) across Europe to launch and manage subscription-based payment plans for eyewear, contact lenses, audiology products, and dry eye treatments. The platform embeds FCA-authorised consumer credit (Firm Reference Number 924690), allowing retailers to offer interest-free installment plans to end consumers while Adaro operates as the lender.

The platform architecture combines payment processing, credit control, stock management, fulfillment, prescription validation, eye test compliance, and CRM/messaging capabilities in a single system, with integrations to the practice management systems used by optical retailers. Adaro maintains ISO 27001 certification (annually audited) and is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office as a data controller. Consumer-facing sub-brands include Adaro Glasses, Adaro Contact Lenses, Adaro Audiology, and Adaro Dry Eye, each representing a subscription vertical powered by the Adaro Direct infrastructure.

The business operates a B2B2C distribution model. Adaro partners with major European optical chains including Specsavers, Vision Express, Boots Opticians, ASDA Opticians, Target Optical, and Synoptik, alongside mid-market independents such as Leightons, Bayfields, David Clulow, and Black & Lizars, reaching 9,000+ optician partners and 1M+ end consumers. Revenue is generated through a combination of recurring SaaS platform fees, subscription services revenue from retailers, and transaction-based income from embedded interest-free consumer credit. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; no external funding rounds have been disclosed in recent years, and the company appears founder-led with co-founders Tim Ralph (CEO) and Paul Carpenter (COO) still in place.

Name

Adaro Group

Legal name

Adaro Optics Ltd.

Website

https://adaro.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Adaro Group operates Adaro Direct, a cloud-based SaaS and FCA-authorised embedded-credit platform that enables European optical retailers to offer interest-free subscription and payment plans for eyewear, contact lenses, audiology, and dry eye products, serving 9,000+ opticians and 1M+ consumers across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Subscription Technology

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Card Issuing & Card-as-a-Service (FSAGALAC)

Keywords

• Optical subscription technology
• Embedded finance platform
• Retail payment solutions
• Subscription management software
• Vertical fintech SaaS

Headquarters

HQ city

Kent

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Services: Recurring subscription revenue from optical retailers for eyewear, contact lens, and audiology subscription services. Retailers pay for access to the platform and generate recurring revenue through subscription plans offered to consumers.
2. Consumer Loans/Payment Plans: Interest-free consumer credit for eyewear, eyecare and audiology products. Adaro acts as lender (FCA authorized) providing installment payment options to consumers, with retailers integrating these financing solutions.
3. SaaS Platform Fees: Platform services including payment processing, credit control, stock management, fulfillment, and CRM capabilities provided to optical retailers on subscription basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Adaro provides a cloud-based SaaS platform (Adaro Direct) that enables optical retailers to offer subscription and interest-free payment plans for eyewear, contact lenses, audiology, and dry eye products. The platform integrates embedded FCA-approved consumer finance (FRN 924690), credit control, stock management, fulfillment, prescription validation, and CRM, and is used by 9,000+ opticians across Europe serving 1M+ end customers.

Product overview

Adaro Group operates as a unified platform offering multiple optical subscription products. The core offering consists of Adaro Direct (a comprehensive B2B2C SaaS platform for optical retailers) which powers subscription and payment solutions for four consumer-facing products: Adaro Glasses (eyewear subscriptions), Adaro Contact Lenses (contact lens subscriptions with automated delivery), Adaro Audiology (hearing care subscriptions), and Adaro Dry Eye (dry eye treatment subscriptions). The platform integrates embedded FCA-approved finance, prescription validation, practice management system integration, messaging, alerts, and CRM capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Adaro Glasses: Flexible subscription plans for eyewear needs including glasses and lenses.
• Adaro Contact Lenses
• Adaro Audiology
• Adaro Dry Eye

Products and services

• Adaro Direct Comprehensive cloud-based SaaS platform for optical retailers, providing payment processing, credit control, stock management, fulfillment, prescription validation, eye test compliance, messaging, alerts, CRM, and embedded FCA-approved consumer finance. Integrates with existing practice management systems and enables retailers to offer subscription and interest-free payment plans across eyewear, eyecare, audiology, and dry eye products.
• Adaro Glasses Flexible subscription plans for eyeglasses and eyewear, enabling customers to spread costs over time through recurring monthly payment options offered via partner optical retailers and managed through the Adaro Direct platform.
• Adaro Contact Lenses Comprehensive eye care subscription service for contact lenses with automated delivery and flexible order management, including the ability to pause or advance contact lens orders online through the Adaro Direct portal.
• Adaro Audiology

Quantifiable outcome

• 1M+ customers served across Europe
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Practice Management System ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationAdaro integrates with all practice management systems used by optical retailers, enabling seamless workflow between subscription management, payment processing, and existing retail operations.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Divido: White-label point-of-sale lending platform for retailers across multiple verticals. Comparable to Adaro's embedded finance model for optical ECPs, though Divido is multi-vertical and Adaro is vertical-specialised with first-party risk-taking.
• Zilch: UK FCA-regulated direct-to-consumer BNPL lender offering interest-free installment credit. Highly comparable to Adaro on the consumer credit and FCA-authorised lender dimensions, though Zilch serves general retail rather than a vertical SaaS stack.
• Splitit: Card-based installment payment platform serving enterprise merchants including healthcare-adjacent verticals. Comparable to Adaro in providing interest-free installment credit at point of sale, but built on existing card rails rather than FCA-direct lending.
• Eyefinity: Optical practice management and EHR software owned by VSP Vision. Comparable to Adaro as a software provider serving the optical retail workflow, though Eyefinity sits in practice management rather than subscription/embedded finance.
• RevolutionEHR: Cloud-based EHR and practice management platform for optometry. Comparable to Adaro as a vertical SaaS player in the optical industry with deep workflow integration into ECPs.
• LendingStream: UK FCA-regulated consumer credit technology provider. Comparable on the FCA-authorised lender and embedded credit infrastructure dimensions that define Adaro's moat.

Broad incumbents

• Klarna: Global BNPL leader serving thousands of merchants including optical retailers. Comparable as an alternative embedded consumer credit provider for the same end customers, though Klarna operates as a broad generalist platform rather than a vertical SaaS.
• Curve: UK-based consumer financial platform with FCA authorisation and embedded payments. Comparable as a UK FCA-regulated fintech building consumer-facing financial products, though Curve is a card/payments super-app rather than a vertical SaaS.

Regional players

• Optal: B2B payments and embedded finance provider with European and global reach. Comparable to Adaro as an embedded finance enabler for merchants, but focuses on B2B payments rather than consumer credit at the optical point of sale.

Others

• ClearPay / Afterpay: Major BNPL provider with broad merchant acceptance. Comparable as competitive consumer credit offering in optical and adjacent retail, but not vertically specialised.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adaro-group-ltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Adaro Group