Worth £675,000, the deal – 80% of which is to be paid in cash, with the remainder issued in new 5p ordinary shares – sees Surrey-based Bell Financial Planning brought under the European Wealth umbrella.
The purchase of the financial planner – which is an offshoot of legal firm Bells Solicitors – brings in around £43m in funds under influence (as at 31 August).
An initial instalment of £44,800 has already been satisfied through the issuing of 53,333 new ordinary shares, which are expected to be available for trading on the AIM from the morning of 25 September.
The remainder of the £675,000 maximum consideration will be settled in three subsquent instalments: £224,000 upon completion, divided between £179,200 in cash and the remainder in 53,333 new ordinary shares; no more than £302,170 after 14 months; and a maximum of £148,830 after two years.
Both of the latter payments will be split 80:20 cash-to-equity, and are dependent on the performance of the firm following its integration into European Wealth.
“This is an excellent example of the ‘win-win-win’ philosophy on which European Wealth is based,” said John Morton, European Wealth chairman.
“Not only are we able to provide a meaningful exit for the owners of the business for whom the financial planning aspect was non-core, but our systems mean the business can be easily integrated into our group, thereby ensuring a near seamless transition for the underlying clients.”
The Bells Financial Planning acquisition follows a busy six months for European Wealth, in which the group saw its funds under management jump 31.7% from £820m to £1.08bn, in addition to the integration of newly acquired P&C Wealth Managers and the purchase of ISM Solutions.
