UAP plans to use the acquisition of the Cardiff-based SIPP, SSAS and pensions firm as a platform for further expansion in the UK.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, was approved by the FCA in October but has only just been announced.

UAP co-founder James Floyd will become Alltrust’s new managing director, with Tommy Burns and Rob Shipman as non-executive directors while Hamid Nawaz-Khan will move to become group consultant. The current director of Alltrust, Tim Williams, will stay on as executive director. 

Earlier today, Alltrust announced it had acquired Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Limited (RPPL) which went into administration in the summer after a flood of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. RPPL’s SIPP and Family Pension Trust staff will move to Alltrust and the sale is expected to be completed by February.

RPPL, a major SIPP and SSAS provider, administered 4,000 SIPPs and 800 Family Pension Trusts with a total investment value of £1.5bn.

UAP CEO and co-founder Rob Shipman said the acquisition would add a “prestigious and well recognised brand” to the UAP group.

He said: “Our company core values of challenging the status quo, working for our partners, and doing things better have been built on our desire to deliver the best client experience. We are a client-focused business, delivering modern solutions, through easy-to-use technology.

“The acquisition of Alltrust brings UAP a prestigious and well recognised pension brand, while also adding significant opportunities to the UAP business. By combining the innovative technological solutions of UAP with the expertise and strong reputation of Alltrust, we are in the perfect position to continue enhancing our service while developing new and pioneering solutions for the benefit of our clients.

“Expansion is our focus. We have exciting plans and as part of this we have agreed to acquire the SIPP book and staff of Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Ltd (RPPL). This will further strengthen the Alltrust offering and provide much needed stability to the staff and clients of Rowanmoor.”

UAP Guernsey Pension Plans and Trusts is itself part of the Guernsey-based Concept Group Limited which is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

UAP was established by founders Rob Shipman and James Floyd to meet a gap in the market for a modern trust and pension company using the latest technology. UAP has a suite of products to support clients of any nationality built by its team in Guernsey.

• In a separate deal, SSAS firm WestBridge Group is acquiring the employees, clients and assets of Rowanmoor Executive Pensions Limited’s (REPL) book of 3,500 small self-administered schemes (SSAS), for an undisclosed sum. This is the second major acquisition for Leicester-based WestBridge and follows the purchase of the James Hay SSAS book in March 2021. The deal will add over 3,500 SSASs to Westbridge’s existing book of 1,000 schemes.