Ascot Lloyd has snapped up its fourth IFA firm in two years in a bid to expand its regional footprint and client base and grow its adviser network to triple digits.
On Monday Ascot Lloyd, one of the UK’s largest independent owned IFA firms, announced it had acquired West Midlands player Newell Palmer, which it called one of the largest and fastest growing IFAs in the region.
The deal will see Ascot Lloyd absorb Newell Palmer’s £1.3bn of funds under influence, taking total assets from £6bn to over £7bn.
Ascot Lloyd is also anticipating on Newell Palmer adding “well over” £12m in revenues to the group, meaning turnover for 2019 will be in excess of £50m. Pre-tax profits are now expected to climb to over £11m next year as a result of the acquisition.
A powerful player
Nigel Stockton, CEO of Ascot Lloyd, said the Newell Palmer deal is “an important acquisition for Ascot Lloyd” that “will make us a powerful player in the West Midlands”.
Newell Palmer has satellite offices in Nuneaton and Bromsgrove as well as a sizeable office in Wolverhampton, which will complement Ascot Lloyd’s sole West Midlands office, also in Wolverhampton.
Following the Newell Palmer acquisition Ascot Lloyd will also have more than 100 advisers in its IFA network.
Expect more M&A
Stockton added that M&A would continue to be a key part of the group’s strategy moving forward.
He said Ascot Lloyd is one of the few IFA companies with proven capability in purchasing and integrating a business of Newell Palmer’s size.
In recent years Ascot Lloyd has aggressively ramped up its growth strategy, purchasing both EFG Independent Financial Adviser and Pantheon Financial.
But the biggest change for the group was when it decided to combine forces with Bellpenny to create a mega wealth manager in July 2017. Although at the time of the merger the group said both brand names would remain it decided to operate solely under the Ascot Lloyd banner after “strong demand” from advisers and clients.
Newell Palmer will also rebrand to Ascot Lloyd some time in the second half of 2019.
