The discretionary wealth manager has signed off on six acquisitions, to be completed this year, that it predicts will grow assets under administration by £156m.
And it added there was an additional nine acquisitions in the works, which, if successful, would add a further £960m of AUA and cost the group £14.95m to complete.
The implementation of RDR and more complex regulation coupled with the UK’s ageing population have made pursuing an aggressive acquisitive strategy a more appealing option in recent years, according to Harwood.
“In 2015, 124 mergers took place in the wealth management and advisory sector, up 83 on the previous year,” it cited in its trading update.
“Research has also suggested that one third of regulated advisers would consider selling their book.
“The directors believe this trend presents opportunities to acquire further businesses at attractive valuations.
“Furthermore, potential acquisition synergies for the group can be derived by increasing advisory and fund management revenues from acquired client lists at the same time as reducing the costs of servicing those clients.”
The 17 acquisitions completed by the group in 2016 for a total of £11.6m took the group’s assets under influence up by 75% to £2.1bn and helped boost assets under management from £276m to £693m.
The new ordinary shares will be offered at a price of 150p per share, a 14.3% discount on the current value weighted average price of 175p as at 29 March.
