West Yorkshire based financial advisory firm City & Capital Acquisitions has rebranded to The Exit Partnership and announced the launch of a knowledge hub for business owners.
Led by two former financial planners, Victoria Hicks and Brian Hill, the company’s new name was chosen to reflect the pair’s mission to “demystify” the mergers and acquisition process and to support financial planning firm owners looking to exit.
Hicks was previously an owner-manager of a chartered firm in York before she exited in 2019 and set up City & Capital Acquisitions shortly after.
Prior to joining City & Capital in 2020, Hill built an award-winning financial planning firm in the South West over a 15 year period.
The pair’s mission is to help advisers, planners and wealth managers to exit their businesses “in the most appropriate way” by providing help, insight and support that sellers previously haven’t had access to.
Commenting on the rebrand, Hicks said the name reflects what they want to be for their clients: “a trusted partner helping them through every step of a successful exit”.
“Selling a business is a high-stakes journey most people will only take once, so they need to get it right,” Hicks said.
“When the time comes to sell, financial planning business owners often don’t know where to begin. Brian and I have been in their shoes, having run our own advice businesses, bought and integrated businesses, and ultimately exited.”
“This experience means we understand first-hand the hopes and fears that go along with the process,” she added.
The firm offers two distinct services for financial planners who wish to sell.
When we engage with sellers, we explain very clearly our two services, how we are remunerated for both, and the pros and cons of each. Brian HillIts ‘partner route’ sees the company acting completely on behalf of the seller to sell the firm, while its ‘broker route’ is remunerated by the buyer.
The Exit Partnership said what sets it apart from other traditional brokers is that all buyers pay the same rate, removing any conflicts of interest, and creating an unbiased approach to reach the best outcome.
Hill said: “We focus on the sellers, who deserve to have their interests regarded as paramount.”
“When we engage with sellers, we explain very clearly our two services, how we are remunerated for both, and the pros and cons of each. We’ve set a fair charging structure without bias, and at a level accepted by all acquirers.”
“A broker fee is a cost of purchase – the seller is actually always paying,” Hill explained.
“Whilst there are some brokers working similarly to us, many are putting their own interests first, and not being honest about the conflicts.
"This results in poorly matched acquisitions, negative press for the planning profession, and a bad reputation for the good brokers helping people exit in the right way.”
Coinciding with the rebrand, the firm has launched a knowledge hub for businesses on its new website which features a series of short videos with answers to common questions about the process of exiting a planning firm.
The Exit Partnership said its aim for the hub is for it to become the go-to resource for those who want to plan their exit and improve value.
In addition to the videos, the hub contains a number of free tools designed to help business owners save money and feel more comfortable about their sale.
These include a valuation calculator and a regulatory due diligence questionnaire.
jane.matthews@ft.com
