Financial services private equity investor AnaCap Financial Partners has made its third acquisition in the UK wealth management platform space with the purchase of Novia Financial.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Novia is a UK-based independent investment and wrap platform with £8.15bn ($10.84bn, €8.93bn) in assets under management, as well as a client base of around 67,000 through more than 1,000 IFA firms.
The acquisition marks the third investment from AnaCap in the UK wealth management platform space and comes after acquiring Amber Financial Investments in July 2020 and Wealthtime in December 2019.
Across the three investments, AnaCap has now acquired almost £11bn in AuM.
Different paths
Bill Vasilieff, chief executive at Novia Financial, told International Adviser that the private equity route was the best option for the firm after having private investors who wanted to realise some investment.
He said the firm looked at flotation on the stock market but it was too small to carry out that strategy.
According to Vasilieff, AnaCap was the best choice for Novia Financial as it is committed to the market, has a successful track record, and it has the capital to allow the firm to grow even further.
As part of the M&A deal, Novia Financial will sell shareholding in its international platform Novia Global back to the company, Vasilieff said.
The deal is likely to be completed in Q2 2021, subject to approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, he added.
‘Exciting’
Nassim Cherchali, partner for M&A at AnaCap, said: “We view this exciting acquisition of Novia as a truly fundamental deal in our strategy across the UK wealth management platform space.
“The investment means we have vastly increased our fund management and technological capabilities.
“We look forward to this next chapter, working with Novia’s impressive technology platform to increase its growth via planned investments into distribution and the building of in-house asset management capabilities.”
Novia’s Vasilieff said: “Novia was keen to partner with a company that had a strong track record in growing fintech businesses with innovative operational strategies.
“We believe that AnaCap represents the perfect choice to help us develop and, pending completion, we look forward to an exciting new chapter for the company in 2021 and beyond.”
