Instant Funding Acquires Funded Trading Plus: Two Established UK Prop Firms Join Forces
Instant Funding Acquires Funded Trading Plus: Two Established UK Prop Firms Join Forces
The prop firm consolidation cycle continued this week with one of the more substantial UK-based deals in the industry's recent history. On 26 May 2026, Instant Funding officially announced its acquisition of Funded Trading Plus (FTP), bringing two established UK prop firms under a single group structure. The deal was completed at a seven-figure purchase price, with Instant Funding CEO Lewis Mansbridge confirming the acquisition increases the group's top-line revenue by 70%.
Both brands will continue operating independently. Same accounts. Same platforms. Same challenges. Same rules. Same support channels. What changes is what happens behind the scenes — shared technology, operational infrastructure, and strategic investment across the wider group.
Here's the full breakdown of what's happened, what it means for traders at both firms, and how this fits into the broader consolidation trend reshaping the prop trading industry in 2026.
TL;DR – What Happened and What It Means
- Instant Funding has acquired Funded Trading Plus in a seven-figure deal, officially confirmed 26 May 2026
- Both brands continue operating independently — accounts, dashboards, challenges, payouts, rules, and support all unchanged
- The combined group revenue increases by 70% according to Instant Funding's CEO
- Traders need to take no immediate action — operations continue as normal at both firms
- The deal reflects broader industry consolidation, with nearly a third of prop firms shutting down or being absorbed since 2024
- Both firms remain listed independently on PFC for ongoing comparison
The Deal in Detail
Instant Funding, led by CEO Lewis Mansbridge and operated by London-based Acello Ltd, has been one of the more notable UK prop firms since its launch in June 2022. The firm has built its reputation on the instant funding model — bypassing evaluation phases and giving traders immediate access to funded accounts — with profit splits scaling up to 90% and a focus on flexible trading rules.
Funded Trading Plus (FTP), founded in 2021, has grown into one of the more established names in the UK prop firm space, with over 60,000 traders served, $19.5M+ in cumulative payouts, and presence in 180+ countries. CEO Simon Massey has positioned FTP around its "5-Star Promise" — a customer-first approach that has produced a strong Trustpilot rating and a wide product menu spanning instant funding, 1-step, and 2-step evaluations.
The acquisition brings both brands under the Instant Funding group structure. According to the official press release, neither firm will see immediate operational changes — accounts, platforms, dashboards, active challenges, payouts, and support channels all remain the same.
Lewis Mansbridge's official statement on the acquisition:
"This acquisition is an important milestone for Instant Funding and represents far more than growth through scale. It strengthens our operational capabilities, expands our product ecosystem, and gives us a stronger foundation to continue innovating for traders."
The seven-figure purchase price and the 70% top-line revenue uplift make this one of the more material UK prop firm acquisitions of recent years — meaningfully larger in financial impact than several other prop firm transactions in 2025-2026.
What Doesn't Change for Existing Traders
The most important message for current account holders at either firm is continuity. Specifically:
At Instant Funding:
- Active accounts remain active
- Existing challenges continue under current rules
- Payout schedules unchanged
- Customer support and Discord channels operate as normal
- Platform access (cTrader and others) unchanged
At Funded Trading Plus:
- All 60,000+ existing trader accounts remain active
- Active challenges across instant funding, 1-step, and 2-step continue under current rules
- The 7-day payout cycle continues
- Customer support, the FTP Discord, and email channels operate unchanged
- Platform access (MetaTrader, TradeLocker, others) unchanged
If you currently hold an account at either firm, you don't need to do anything. Trade as normal. The acquisition affects the corporate structure above your account, not the account itself.
What Could Change Over Time
The phrase "shared technology, operational infrastructure, and strategic investment" in the official press release is doing significant lifting. While day-one operations continue as separate brands, the longer-term direction signalled by the deal involves bringing the two firms' back-end capabilities together over time.
Based on the press release framing, focus areas for the combined group include:
- Platform and product innovation — likely meaning faster development cycles for new account types and platform features at both brands
- Operational efficiency and scalability — shared infrastructure that reduces duplicated cost across both firms
- Infrastructure and trader experience — investments in dashboards, KYC, payout rails that benefit both customer bases
- Expansion of trading products and services — potentially new account variants or asset class coverage
- Long-term technology and platform development — the deeper engineering investments that smaller firms typically struggle to fund alone
What this likely means in practice over the coming year:
- Both brands continue with their distinct positioning and customer-facing experience
- Behind-the-scenes infrastructure consolidates (KYC processing, payout rails, risk monitoring)
- New product features ship faster than either firm could deliver alone
- Operational reliability potentially improves at both brands
For traders, the practical message is that the existing trader experience continues unchanged while the combined group has more resources to invest in improvements over time.
Why This Matters for the Wider Industry
This acquisition lands at a meaningful moment for the prop firm industry. According to Finance Magnates coverage, nearly one-third of prop firms have shut down or been absorbed in under two years, with up to 100 prop trading firms failing to survive through 2024 and the consolidation extending through 2025. The industry is genuinely maturing, and the deals being struck reflect that maturity.
What the Instant Funding / FTP acquisition signals about the broader landscape:
The era of pure-marketing-driven prop firms is winding down. Firms surviving and thriving in 2026 are those investing in genuine infrastructure — KYC automation, payout reliability, platform stability, customer support quality. Acquisitions like this consolidate the firms with that operational substance.
Multi-brand group structures are becoming common. Rather than aggressive consolidation under a single brand, the industry is moving toward holding-company structures where multiple firms operate distinctively under shared operational infrastructure. This preserves brand differentiation while capturing operational scale benefits.
UK and EU-based prop firms are establishing operational scale. Several of the most material 2025-2026 prop firm deals have involved UK or EU firms (Instant Funding/FTP being the latest). This suggests the regulatory and operational foundations being laid in those jurisdictions are starting to produce real scale.
Trader stability matters more than ever. When firms collapse, traders lose access to active accounts and pending payouts — as we've covered in our piece on the MyForexFunds rewards situation. Acquisitions, by contrast, preserve trader continuity. From a trader-safety perspective, consolidation through acquisition is generally a healthier outcome than firm failure.
For more context on the structural shifts in the industry, see our coverage of FTMO's acquisition of OANDA Prop Trader — another consolidation deal that reshaped a meaningful slice of the prop firm landscape.
Who This Affects
Three groups of traders should be paying attention to this deal:
Current Funded Trading Plus account holders. No immediate operational changes. Continue trading as normal. Watch FTP's official Discord and email channels over the coming months for any product, platform, or operational updates as the integration progresses.
Current Instant Funding account holders. Same message — no immediate changes. Continue trading as normal. The acquisition strengthens Instant Funding's operational foundation over time, which is good news for account stability and future product development.
Traders evaluating either firm for new sign-ups. Both firms remain available to new traders with their existing product menus, pricing, and rule structures. The acquisition doesn't change the immediate value proposition of either brand, but it does add a layer of operational backing that newer or smaller firms can't match.
The wider prop trading community. This deal is another data point in the consolidation trend. For traders thinking about firm risk in their multi-firm portfolio strategy, the message is that firms with genuine operational substance are increasingly being recognised through M&A activity — which is generally a positive signal for trader safety at those firms.
What Action Traders Should Take
Honestly: none, immediately. Both firms have confirmed that existing operations continue unchanged.
What's worth doing as a matter of good trader hygiene:
Stay informed. Monitor the official Discord and email channels for both firms over the coming months. Genuine product updates will be communicated through those channels.
Don't rely on second-hand information. With any acquisition, there's a wave of speculative content suggesting changes that may not actually happen. Trust the firm's official communications first.
Continue treating both firms independently. If you trade at both, your accounts at each remain separate. Profit splits, drawdown rules, payout cycles, and platform access all continue under each firm's existing structure.
Maintain your multi-firm diversification. This applies whether you trade at Instant Funding, FTP, both, or neither. Spreading prop trading capital across multiple firms remains the smart approach in 2026, particularly given the consolidation patterns we're seeing. For more on this, see our decision framework for choosing a prop firm.
PFC's Take
For traders, this is good news in the medium term. Both Instant Funding and FTP are now backed by a group structure with more capital, more operational scale, and more capacity to invest in trader-facing infrastructure. The historical pattern with prop firm acquisitions is that the acquired brand's operations typically improve over the following 12-18 months as the new parent's resources flow in — better KYC, faster payouts, more reliable platforms.
The independent-operation framing of this deal is also notable. Rather than absorbing FTP into Instant Funding's branding, the group has chosen to keep both brands distinct. This signals an understanding that the two firms serve somewhat different trader audiences — Instant Funding's instant-access model versus FTP's broader challenge product menu — and that the combined value is greater than collapsing into a single product.
It's also worth flagging that both firms remain listed independently on PFC for ongoing comparison, with their respective product pages and discount codes maintained separately. Whatever the corporate structure above them, traders evaluating either firm can continue to do so as distinct options on the PFC platform. See our main comparison tool for full filtering and our verified discount codes page for current promotional offers at both firms.
We'll continue tracking the integration process and any operational changes at either firm as they develop.
FAQs – Instant Funding / Funded Trading Plus Acquisition
What happened on 26 May 2026?
Instant Funding officially announced the acquisition of Funded Trading Plus, a seven-figure deal that brings both UK-based prop firms under a single group structure. The deal was confirmed via official press release.
Will Funded Trading Plus continue operating?
Yes. FTP continues to operate as an independent brand under the new group structure. Accounts, platforms, challenges, payouts, rules, and support channels all remain unchanged.
Will Instant Funding continue operating?
Yes. Instant Funding continues operating as before, with the same products, platforms, and rule structures. The acquisition strengthens the group's operational backing without changing the firm's customer-facing experience.
Do I need to do anything as an existing trader at either firm?
No. Both firms have explicitly confirmed that no trader action is required. Active accounts, challenges, and payouts continue under existing terms.
Will my account rules or payout terms change?
Not in the immediate term. Both firms have confirmed that existing rule structures, profit splits, and payout schedules remain in place. Any future changes would be communicated through each firm's official channels.
Who is Lewis Mansbridge?
CEO of Instant Funding (operated by Acello Ltd, London). Mansbridge confirmed the acquisition increases the combined group's top-line revenue by 70%.
Who is Simon Massey?
CEO of Funded Trading Plus, the founder behind the firm's "5-Star Promise" customer-first positioning since FTP's launch in 2021.
What does the acquisition mean for the wider prop firm industry?
It's another data point in the broader consolidation trend reshaping the prop firm industry, with nearly a third of prop firms shutting down or being absorbed since 2024. Acquisitions like this generally signal that firms with genuine operational substance are being recognised through M&A activity rather than failing — which is a healthier outcome for traders than firm collapse.
Are both firms still listed on PFC?
Yes. Both Instant Funding and Funded Trading Plus remain listed independently on PFC, with separate product pages and discount tracking.
Should I trust either firm more or less because of the acquisition?
The acquisition slightly improves the operational backing of both brands. Both firms had solid track records independently; combined under a single group with shared infrastructure, the operational reliability over time should improve rather than decline.
When will operational changes start to appear?
The press release doesn't specify a timeline, but typical prop firm acquisition integrations show meaningful operational improvements at the acquired brand within 12-18 months. Expect gradual changes communicated through official channels rather than dramatic shifts.
Last updated: 27 May 2026. The Instant Funding / Funded Trading Plus acquisition was officially announced on 26 May 2026. Operational details may evolve as the integration progresses — verify current details on each firm's official channels.
Risk disclaimer: Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.
