LONDON, UK: Kingswood Holdings Limited (AIM: KWG) has exchanged and completed on an acquisition of Aim Independent Limited (Aim) an independent financial advice business based in Eastleigh serving clients throughout Hampshire.
Following regulatory approval, the business will be acquired for total cash consideration of up to £3.6m, payable over a two-year period, £1.8m will be paid at closing and the balance paid on a deferred basis.
David Lawrence, UK CEO at Kingswood, commented: ”My ambition for Kingswood is to become a leading wealth management advisory and Investment management business, breaking the £7bn AUA/M mark is a huge signal to that as we continue to grow our geographical footprint across the UK.
Our acquisition of Aim will further expand that reach into a new county in the South. Aim was founded in 2000 and is run by Phil Watson and Andy Davies, who between them they have over 60 years’ experience and an unrivalled commitment to their clients, which fits in perfectly with the culture and ethos at Kingswood.
”This is our fourth acquisition of 2022 and we continue to have a strong pipeline of high-quality UK opportunities under negotiation, three of which are in exclusive due diligence. Our next near-term target is to build our UK AUA/M to in excess of £10bn in the U.K. and £14bn globally and we have the balance sheet to do so.”
Aim provides financial advice to over 750 clients. Alongside Phil Watson and Andy Davies, they have three other advisers and six support colleagues looking after clients mainly based in Hampshire, holding around £217m AuA/M. In the year ending 31 July 2021, Aim generated revenue of £1.2m and profit before tax of £479k.
Phil Watson, Company principal, commented: ”We had two objectives we wanted to achieve when we began to search for a potential buyer, succession planning and economies of scale. With Kingswood we believe we have found the qualities of leadership, talent and knowledge to build on our reputation and create a stronger company with new pathways for growth. We are confident that we have made the right choice for both our colleagues and our clients for their future prosperity.”
On completion, the acquisition will be funded from funds recently received by Kingswood from the issue of new convertible preference shares, under the terms of its Convertible Preference Share subscription agreement with HSQ INVESTMENT LIMITED, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of funds managed and/or advised by Pollen Street Capital Limited.
Kingswood’s partnership with Pollen Street grows in strength, and to date has provided growth equity of £77.4 million to support existing and future acquisitions.
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