An advice firm aiming to develop into a nationwide business through consolidation has launched with its first acquisition.
Liberate Wealth was founded and is led by former EQ Investors and Broadstone Corporate Benefits chief executive Mark Howlett.
It has bought Ebor Financial Planning in Yorkshire, its first acquisition since launch in 2022.
Liberate Wealth is backed financially by the founders of Var Capital and the clients of its global family office. The Var Capital founders also co-founded Monument Bank and Greenr, which provides an AI-powered carbon accounting dashboard.
Howlett said: "Liberate Wealth offers great value-add to regional planning and wealth managers, providing access to resources that would normally be cost prohibitive. We wanted to offer advice firms an alternative to the consolidators currently out there, providing respite from the profit-driven ‘buy and hold’ culture that has become commonplace.
"Liberate Wealth is building a business that will stand the test of time, where leadership understand that our teams and client wellbeing are the foundations of a successful company."
He described the north of England as a “strategically important region” for the business as it seeks to expand, and said he is looking to “actively engage” with advice firms that share his values.
Ebor Financial Planning has assets under management of £200mn and a staff of 14, and the aim is for this business to be a “regional hub” as Liberate expands both organically and through acquisition within the region.
Howlett said: “Liberate Wealth’s launch is the result of much hard work and planning behind the scenes, so we are thrilled to introduce ourselves to the market with our inaugural acquisition.
"We have taken the time to build a proposition that we know appeals to the advisers we want to work with – providing greater access to fund research, wider investment options for clients, improved transparency, technology and reporting functions, all underpinned by ethical values which prioritise clients, colleagues and the environment."
David Dixon, Ebor's founder, will remain in a consulting role for Liberate Wealth.
He said: "Having spent many years nurturing Ebor into the successful business it is today, it is hugely exciting to move into the future as a cornerstone of Liberate Wealth’s business.
"Liberate Wealth’s culture and innovative infrastructure was a real draw for us, knowing that our team would be fully supported to let go of administrative burdens, refocusing their energy on developing their skills further and providing excellent client care."
Howlett began his career at Scottish Equitable in 1987 and ran both the private client and the corporate benefits businesses at BDO Investment Management.
That corporate benefits business became Broadstone when Howlett and private equity firm Oakley Capital bought the corporate benefits business from BDO, with Howlett as chief executive.
That business was then sold to another private equity firm in 2016, after Howlett had been chief executive for 11 years.
In 2017 he became co-chief executive of EQ, an advice and employee benefits firm with £1.6bn of assets under management.
david.thorpe@ft.com
