 Consolidation continues in the IFA market as Sanlam announces the acquisition of Rhyl-based IFA Buckles Holding.
The South African financial services group announced a 60 per cent stake in Buckles this week, following the recent acquisitions of intermediary distribution company Intrinsic and investment management administration platform Nucleus.
The latest transaction, which will not see a rebrand of Buckles, boosts Sanlam's client base by 25,000 and raises its profile in the fields of investment and pensions, where Buckles conducts 75 per cent of its business.
The move is also in line with the company’s recognised strategy of growth and diversification through selective acquisitions and geographic expansion.
Commenting on the acquisition, Dr Johan van Zyl, chief executive of Sanlam, said: "We believe the aggregation of IFAs in the UK market provides a significant opportunity to build on our initiatives aimed at establishing a substantial and leading advisory and wealth management business in the UK. Buckles meets all the criteria as a top quality intermediary business we were seeking for this purpose."
Nigel Speirs, chief executive of Buckles, said he was pleased with the transaction. He said: "We are delighted to have received the backing of Sanlam, which will help us achieve our targets for the future. The investments will enable us to continue our programme of acquiring the businesses of IFAs who wish to retire, with the assurance that their clients will continue to be well looked after."
Meanwhile in a move reflecting industry changes, Modus Private Equity has completed its third deal, buying a significant stake in Perspective Financial Group.
At completion of the firm's third investment, PFG acquired Milton Keynes-based Perspective Financial Management and Cambridge-based Cambridge Investments Limited and announced an ambitious growth plan designed to acquire approximately 10 further businesses over the next 12 months and a further 20 beyond that.
Commenting on the deal, Paul Hogarth, said: "We have assembled a great team here and are in a fantastic position to capitalise on the impending changes and the opportunities arising in the IFA market place."
However Peter Cox, senior financial consultant for Hertfordshire-based IFA IFPC, said the smaller-size IFA firms stood to lose out in consolidation. He said: "The likelihood is that a lot of the bottom-end of the IFA market will fall away. The smaller one-man bands will gradually disappear because of the sheer weight of regulation and the added work from pressure to comply with the retail distribution review and treating customers fairly legislation."
Source: FTAdviser.com |
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