IFA consolidator Radiant Financial Group has bought Doncaster-based IFA, Ethos Financial Solutions, taking assets under advice to £1.6bn.
The deal will add £300mn in assets under administration as well as 18 members of staff and five advisers to the group.
Ethos is Radiant’s first transaction in Yorkshire and the firm said it plans to expand significantly in the region using Ethos as a hub.
Will Palmer, director of Ethos, said: “It has been a long search to find a company to be part of that we really feel comfortable with. We are confident that joining Radiant will offer our fabulous staff both security and career development.
“Our clients, whom we value highly, will get continued stability and genuine independent financial advice and service they can trust.”
This latest deal takes Radiant’s staff numbers to 150.
Simon Cogman-Hellier, chief executive officer at Radiant, said: “We’re extremely happy that the Ethos team has chosen to partner with us. They are an extremely well-run business, with a strong team of extremely well qualified staff.
“We are really impressed with the business and believe they are an excellent fit in helping us provide client-centric advice and exceptional delivery as we look to expand across the North of England.”
The purchase follows on from September when the national consolidator bought five firms, which took its assets under advisement to £1.3bn.
It bought two Scottish advice firms first: Perth-based IFA GS Financial Services and Aberdeen-based AMLP Financial Planning.
These were followed by an additional three the same month: Barnstaple-based Irvine Financial Services, Oldham-based Landmark Financial Planning and Henley-on-Arden-based Andrew Gibbs IFA.
Cogman-Hellier said: “When IFAs are considering a new home for their business, we know it’s crucial that our values are in line with theirs. We also know it is vital that the staff in the business joining us are given the opportunity to thrive and grow within our group.”
The group said it continues to look for acquisition opportunities across the UK and is keen to speak with IFAs who would prefer to focus more on servicing their clients than having to deal with the “infrastructure” of the business.
The firm said it is keen to also provide capital for those keen to focus on the next stage and it aims to retain all staff following an acquisition.
Cogman-Hellier added: “Radiant is not a typical consolidator. We don’t acquire businesses simply for the assets they advise on.
“The scale of funds under management is not a key factor for us when looking to partner with a business – much more important is the cultural fit. For us the post deal integration, making sure our new colleagues really thrive, is as important as the deal itself.”
In December, Radiant launched an investment management offering called Radiant Asset Management.
At the time, the firm said the asset management service will be “radically different” from traditional discretionary fund managers, as it is based on feedback from financial planners and IFAs.
Last February, it also launched its own platform with the help of Octopus-owned white-label technology provider Seccl.
Led by Peter Mann, the former vice-chairman of Old Mutual and chief executive of Skandia, Radiant named its new platform ‘Radiant Platform Management’.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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