Tavistock Investments has agreed to acquire 21% of the issued share capital of independent financial advisory group LEBC Holdings.
LEBC has three wholly owned subsidiaries, two of which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), LEBC Group and Aspira Corporate Solutions, and a third which is unregulated, fintech app LEBC Hummingbird.
By acquiring the 21% stake, Tavistock will become a “controller” of each of LEBC’s regulated subsidiaries and completion of the transaction is therefore conditional upon receipt of the FCA’s approval.
The LEBC group was established in 2000 as a provider of financial planning and consultancy services to private and corporate clients. LEBC employs 46 financial planners, has over 75,000 clients and an estimated £5bn ($6.79bn, €6bn) of assets under advice, of which over £500m is invested in LEBC’s model portfolio service.
Tavistock has agreed to acquire all of the 212,738 A ordinary shares of £0.01 each in LEBC for a total cash consideration of £10m from Marie McVitie, the widow of LEBC’s founder and former chief executive, Jack McVitie, who died in September 2020.
Some £6m of the consideration will be paid upon completion and £4m will be paid on a date that is twelve months following completion.
LEBC’s largest shareholder is private equity firm BP Marsh and Partners (BPM) which owns 60% of LEBC’s voting rights.
Brian Raven, Tavistock chief executive, said: “We look forward to working in close partnership with BP Marsh & Partners and with LEBC’s management team.
“The initial focus will be on accelerating LEBC’s commercial development and operational efficiency, as well as enhancing its oversight and compliance regime through the introduction of Tavistock’s proprietary risk-based processes and procedures.”
Derek Miles, LEBC managing director, added: “We are delighted to welcome Tavistock as a shareholder within our rapidly growing business. We expect Ebitda to more than double this financial year and look forward to a long and successful partnership with Tavistock, to our mutual benefit.”
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