Vines Row aims to reinvent the existing ‘match-making’ model currently being offered to IFA vendors and acquirers, by providing a comprehensive IFA acquisition advisory service.
Match-making just the start
Pearce-Herzberg, managing director of Vines Row, said: “I’ve been involved in more than 25 IFA transactions over the past three years and this has given me a unique, birds-eye view of the deal process from both vendor and acquirer perspectives.
“Introducers fulfil an important role in bringing interested buyers and sellers together but there has always seemed to me to be a missing link in the existing model. I believe the initial match-making element should be just a starting point. It’s after that the really hard work should begin and I’m determined that Vines Row will add value at every stage of the process, all the way through to deal completion.”
She continued: “In my experience far too many deals break down for reasons other than price. I see Vines Row’s role as being the oil in the transaction engine. We will save both buyers and sellers time, money and hassle but, ultimately, our job is all about getting more deals across the finish line.”
Progress tracking
Vines Row’s services include a purpose built data room that will enable both vendor and acquirer to track the progress of the transaction online, in real-time, and will also facilitate a secure, well-managed due diligence process.
A tendering system will enable sellers to invite prospective acquirers to bid for their company.
Vines Row is targeting IFA buyers as well as vendors. It will offer acquirers a search facility which will help identify suitable opportunities, tailored to their individual criteria.
Commenting on the launch, Dan Russell, managing director of Verbatim Asset Management said: “For me, the big surprise is that no one is already out there providing this type of true end-to-end advisory service to the IFA acquisition market. Getting two interested parties to the negotiating table is often the easy bit. After that, deals can unravel for any number of reasons.”
“I’m sure the idea of having an expert on hand to facilitate the process and help overcome the inevitable bumps in the road will hold a lot of appeal both to vendors and acquirers. All the more so as Vines Row offer such a wealth of first-hand IFA acquisition experience,” he added.
