The chief executive of Police Mutual said the deal, for an undisclosed fee, would allow the society to be able to offer more products and services to its members, and increase its scale in key areas of development.
The Staffordshire-based mutual operates throughout the UK and has around 280 employees. It was founded in 1866, and operates on a commercial but not-for-profit basis, offering members of the police service and their families’ savings, investments, insurance, healthcare and mortgage advice.
Forces Financial was established in 1999 and is based in Suffolk. It has around 180,000 members in the police and military.
Mr Mann said “We have been looking to grow and develop our offering further and identified Forces Financial as a good fit that will ultimately allow us to reach a wider uniformed customer base.
“The deal will also enable Police Mutual to increase what it offers to its members as well as representing a good investment for them.
“This important acquisition for Police Mutual also confirms our position as one of the largest financial services affinity providers in the UK.”
The two owner directors of Forces Financial, Rob Proudman and Robin Williams, will join the Police Mutual executive team. No redundancies are planned as a result of the acquisition.
Adviser View
Raj Shah, principal of Sheffield-based Blue Wealth Management, said: “I have clients in this sector, and would say this type of deal would create a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully it will give greater consistency of service across the UK, but I would add that Police Mutual’s funds have not performed well.”
