London-based Kingswood today announced it had acquired the Thomas & Co business for a maximum cash sum of £3.3m, adding £150m in assets under advice and increasing its client numbers to 4,500 with a total of £1.9bn under advice.
The deal involves an initial cash payment of £1.5m and a further deferred sum of a maximum of £1.8m subject to revenue and profitability over a three-year period.
In the year to 31 December 2017, Thomas & Co made a pre-tax profit of £460,000.
Kingswood says it plans to become “a leader in the UK wealth and investment management market” and build a nationally recognised brand.
Kingswood bought IFA firm Marchant McKechnie in October 2018 as part of this strategy.
Thomas & Co is based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and offers personal and company pensions, investments and tax planning. It has 500 clients and £150 million of assets under advice (AUA).
The principals and staff of Thomas & Co, who will join Kingswood as part of the acquisition, will continue to operate from its existing office in Abingdon.
Kingswood says the deal broadens its UK footprint, adding to its offices in London, Manchester, Cheltenham, Maidstone, Worcester and Beverley.
Gary Wilder, group chief executive, Kingswood, said: “Our strategy remains firmly focused on seeking opportunities, domestically and internationally, to drive growth in revenue and assets under management and advice, through acquisition and by attracting best in class wealth and investment talent to the Kingswood platform.”
Joe Berry, founder and principal of Thomas & Co, said: “Kingswood is a very similar firm to us, with a strong commitment to protecting client’s wealth and providing first-class advice, with the emphasis on face-to-face personal service. They also give us access to an array of innovative investment products and services beyond those readily available to our private clients."
• Separately, Kingswood has launched an enhanced Managed Portfolio Service for intermediaries, providing discretionary managed, risk-rated investments for adviser clients.