Private equity backed Financial Planning firm Ascot Lloyd posted a pre-tax loss of £14m for the year ended 31 December, following the impact of an FCA investigation into the firm, according to accounts filed with Companies House this week.
In 2023 Ascot Lloyd saw a pre-tax profit of £1.7m.
Ascot Lloyd was one of 20 financial advice firms written to by the FCA last year seeking information on ongoing client servicing.
Following the FCA review, the firm has put aside £17m to cover the cost of client remediation for clients where it has not provided sufficient ongoing service. The provision includes refunds of ongoing service charges, interest and administration costs.
It does not cover potential redress linked to historic acquisitions before the businesses were integrated into Ascot Lloyd. The firm said this was due to not having sufficient data.
The Financial Planner said it expects to pay out around £10m by September 2026.
Ascot Lloyd also highlighted a 30% increase in administrative costs due to the FCA’s ongoing service review provision as well as acquisition costs.
Revenues rose 13% for the firm to £82.9m (2023: £73.6m) for the year. The Financial Planner said the increase was driven by acquisitions and improved market conditions.
Assets under management and administration rose from £10bn in 2023 to £10.8bn as at 31 December.
The Financial Planning firm said it will continue with its buy and build strategy which has seen it make a number of acquisitions in recent years.
In August Ascot Lloyd agreed to purchase Aberdeen Financial Planning for an undisclosed sum, adding around 150 advisers across the UK.
Aberdeen Financial Planning, formerly 1825, was set up as part of Standard Life plc in 2015 and subsequently built up through a series of acquisitions. The business was renamed in 2021 and then moved to sit within Interactive Investor in January 2024.
European private equity firm Nordic Capital acquired Ascot Lloyd from US-based Oaktree Capital Management for an undisclosed sum in October 2022.
Before then Ascot Lloyd acquired a number of Financial Planners across the country, including Kemble Warwick, Corporate Benefits Consulting, Gregory Adam Financial Management, Fitzroy Wealth Management and Ring Associates in 2020.
In August 2021 it completed the acquisition of Aberdeen-based Central Investment Services, a few months after securing funds from Ares Management Corporation to increase its capital available for acquisitions to over £100m.
In October last year it acquired Scottish adviser Create and Prosper Financial Services, bringing £254m in assets under administration.
Ascot Lloyd was setup in 2003 and provides Financial Planning, wealth management and corporate benefit solutions to over 20,000 clients. It has over 500 staff across 17 UK locations.
