National IFA Wren Sterling has appointed Henry Blunt as acquisitions director, as it sets its sights on advice firms in areas including Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester.
Blunt joins after eight years at Retiring IFA, where he was managing director for the past six years.
His role there involved helping IFAs sell their businesses to acquiring companies, including Wren Sterling.
In his new role, he will report to Wren Sterling’s chief executive officer Ian Halley.
Halley said: “Henry’s experience in the acquisitions market will be invaluable for Wren Sterling as we continue our strategy of selective acquisitions and extend our footprint into major conurbations such as Birmingham and London.”
Blunt added: “I’ve advised hundreds of acquiring parties, from new market entrants to national consolidators, but Wren Sterling really stood out.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ian and the rest of the Wren Sterling leadership team to grow the business.”
Wren Sterling said it is focused on businesses that fit with the firm and looking at areas of the country where it is not geographically represented by an office location such as Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester.
A spokesperson for Wren Sterling said the firm has had a lot of success with the acquisitions it has made to date, which have helped to grow the business.
“Henry’s appointment gives us the focus for this opportunity and it could lead us to do larger deals than we have historically completed.”
In July, Wren Sterling changed hands from one private equity owner to another as part of a management buyout of the firm.
US private equity firm Lightyear Capital now holds a majority stake and the management team will retain a minority stake, to complete a management buyout from Palatine Private Equity and shareholders.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it will see all of Wren Sterling’s management team and staff remain in place.
Today (November 2), the firm said when the management buyout completes, Lightyear Capital will bring further access to capital and expertise enabling the business to continue to grow at pace.
Wren Sterling made four acquisitions in the first half of 2021, including White Wells Investments in February, followed by Sentinel Private Clients, based in Warwickshire, Cardiff-based Bookkeeping Administration Services and Rothesay Intelligent Financial Services, based in Bedfordshire in July.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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