Independent Wealth Planners has completed its ninth acquisition in a deal that will bring £250m in assets under management and eight advisers to the business.
The consolidator, which first came to market towards the end of last year, has purchased Stevenage-based financial planning firm Richmond House Wealth Management as part of its ambitions to manage £5bn of assets in the coming year.
Richmond House was established in 1964 and in 2006 launched a discretionary management service. The acquisition is IWP's second in the south east this year and Richmond House is set to become the consolidator's regional hub in the Hertfordshire area.
Paul Beasley, chief executive of Richmond House, said: "What attracted me to IWP was the ability to secure the future growth of Richmond House in a way that ensures continuity for our clients.
"I’m excited to be joining a national brand that will provide the infrastructure for us to continue to grow and provide clients with the excellent service they expect."
IWP first launched to market with plans to secure £2bn of client assets in the first quarter of 2020, a target it surpassed with the acquisition of its first seven advice firms
David Inglesfield, chief executive of IWP, said: "We’re thrilled that Richmond House is joining IWP. In doing so the team will be able to focus on exemplary client service as they also continue to grow the business.
"Establishing our hub in the Hertfordshire region, we look forward to supporting Richmond House to build on its excellent position in the market."
In April Mr Inglesfield told FTAdviser the company, which is majority-owned and controlled by its own management team, was eyeing a pipeline of 20 deals and remained undeterred by the pandemic-fuelled market downturn.
Acquired firms keep their own branding upon joining IWP but share the consolidator's master brand on a national level.
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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