Almary Green Investments has acquired its fourth adviser firm in a deal that brings over 600 clients and more than £30m in funds under management.
The deal, completed today (1 April), is for Lowestoft-based father and son adviser firm Jones Financial Planning.
Almost six years ago Almary merged with Hopkinson Financial Consultancy, a specialist in financial and investment advice for employers and business owners, which had more than 400 clients based across East Anglia with £25m in funds under management.
Earlier that year it brought Cambridge-based IFA m2 finance4women, bringing pensions in divorce specialists Fiona Sharp and Stephanie Clarke under the Almary Green umbrella, taking its total number of highly qualified advisers to 13 including six women IFAs.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Carl Lamb, managing director of Almary Green, said that the two chartered financial planner owners would be joining, but five self-employed advisers would not be taken on.
“We paid just under three times recurring income over a three year period, based on profitability and no initial consideration,” he explained.
Mr Lamb said that while his firm had been approached by many in its 14 years, only four practices have “fitted the ethos” and passed through due diligence scrutiny.
He added that with the regulatory environment for advisers only getting tougher, many smaller firms were looking to find like-minded people to take on their clients.
In a message to those involved in the acquisition, Mr Lamb added that “the amalgamation will no doubt create certain issues in the short term, but equally exciting opportunities too”.
peter.walker@ft.com
