Harwood Wealth Management has bought two advice firms, adding £100mn of assets under administration and 400 clients to its books.
The firms are D Heaton Ltd in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Wealth Creation & Management Ltd in Christchurch, together comprising six staff members.
All together, Harwood now employs more than 100 IFAs with assets under advice of approximately £3bn.
The deals were announced amid a rebrand of the national IFA, from Harwood to Argentis, which is set to take effect on July 25.
Argentis comes from the name of one of Harwood’s previous purchases, Argentis Financial Planning - the wealth division of Gallagher. Over the past two years, Harwood has also bought Cedar Wealth.
In March 2020, Hurst Point Group, a subsidiary of private equity parent Carlyle, 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, will bring together the different parts of the financial planning division into one united brand in a bid to provide “greater clarity to clients”.
“As we return the Harwood brand, we are excited to build and grow under the Argentis banner,” said the firm’s managing director, John White.
“We have taken the time to develop a branding identity that represents our values and demonstrates what we bring to client relationships.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
