PE-backed Hurst Point Group buys financial planning firm

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PE-backed Hurst Point Group buys financial planning firm
Pexels/Suzy Hazelwood

Metis has £750mn of assets under advice and £190mn of assets under management, taking the group’s overall total to nearly £8bn.

With 18 people based across Haywards Heath in West Sussex and London, Metis is a financial planning and investment management business. 

As part of the deal, Metis Wealth will become part of Argentis Group, the financial planning division of Hurst Point Group, while Metis Asset Management will become part of Hawksmoor Group, the investment management division.

Metis founders George Delaney and Simon Arthur, said: “We very much look forward to becoming part of Hurst Point Group and continuing the journey of growing our business whilst further enhancing our client proposition. We are confident this move will have a very positive impact for both our clients and the exceptional Metis team. 

“It was of paramount importance to us that Metis was joining forces with a firm that not only offered opportunities for growth to all the Metis team but also where their culture and future goals were aligned with our own.”

Hurst Point Group was established in 2019 for investment purposes by global investment firm Carlyle into the UK wealth management sector. 

Hurst Point’s financial planning division managing director John White, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Metis into the group. It has been most enjoyable working closely with founders Simon and George on the transaction over the last six months and we very much look forward to them and the whole team joining the business. 

“It is clear that Metis is a first-class financial planning business for high-net-worth clients, and growing our capabilities in this area is an important strategic priority for our business.”

In March 2020, Hurst Point Group bought Harwood in a deal worth up to £91mn.

As part of this deal, it was agreed Harwood’s name would change after a transitional period. The firm received investment from Harwood Capital and was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2016, before it was taken private by Hurst Point Group. 

The rebranding, it said, would bring together the different parts of the financial planning division into one united brand in a bid to provide “greater clarity to clients”.

Delaney and Arthur added: “To this end, and with the support of our corporate advisers, IMAS, we feel we have found the perfect environment at Hurst Point Group. We are confident Metis will continue to go from strength-to-strength in the coming years and beyond. 

”We wish to thank our loyal clients and the Metis team for being an integral part of our business to date and we look forward to an exciting future together.” 

Last week, Harwood Wealth Management bought two advice firms, adding £100mn of assets under administration and 400  clients to its books.

The firms were D Heaton Ltd in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Wealth Creation & Management Ltd in Christchurch, together comprising six staff members.

The deals were announced amid a rebrand of the national IFA, from Harwood to Argentis, which was set to take effect on July 25.

sonia.rach@ft.com

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