Wealth adviser Towry is to acquire the business assets and contracts of Axa UK-owned advisory business Bluefin Personal Consulting.
Earlier this week, Towry chief executive Andrew Fisher hinted to FTAdviser that the firm may be considering the buy.
Bluefin currently advises on £500m of assets for around 1,500 clients. The transferring business will comprise 19 wealth planners and 70 support staff.
According to a statement from Towry, Bluefin will continue to operate from its existing offices in London, Cardiff, Telford and Knutsford under the Bluefin brand name for the short-term.
Mr Fisher said: “The transaction is in line with our stated strategic objective to grow by acquisition and the [Bluefin Personal Consulting] proposition will further strengthen and broaden the range of services we can offer to both Towry and BPC clients.”
The buyout by Towry brings to an end a difficult seven-year Axa ownership of the business, which in April 2012 sold Bluefin’s employee benefits business Bluefin Corporate Consulting to Capita in a £50m deal. Bluefin’s other operations, including Bluefin Insurance Group and Bluefin Personal Consulting were not part of the transaction.
FTAdviser had exclusively revealed almost a year earlier that Bluefin was planning to close its advisory service arm and had put staff at its Newcastle office on 30-day at-risk notice. At the time the firm said the move was part of a strategic review of the wealth management business.
