Leicester-headquartered Mattioli Woods has acquired alternative asset manager Maven Capital Partners UK and the holding company of Ludlow Wealth Management Group.
The combined price for the two deals is up to £143.5m ($203.2m, €166m).
They are in line with the group’s strategy to “accelerate growth through strategic acquisitions while enhancing organic growth opportunities; adding scale, distribution and product”, Mattioli Woods said in a stock exchange filing.
The deals are “expected to be earnings accretive in the first full year of ownership” and increase total client assets to £13.6bn.
Ludlow
The firm will buy UK financial planner Ludlow Wealth Management through the acquisition of parent company LWMG Topco Limited for a total consideration and other deferred payments of up to £43.5m.
The initial consideration is of £36.1m, followed by deferred contingent consideration of up to £6.4m in cash, plus up to £1m of bonuses payable to non-shareholder employees.
Ludlow Wealth Management has total assets under advice (AuA) of £1.6bn.
The deal adds “scale and critical mass” in the north west of England through Ludlow Wealth Management’s five offices and 22 advisers.
The completion of the acquisition of Ludlow Wealth Management is also conditional upon Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval.
Maven
Also, Mattioli Woods will buy private equity investor and alternative asset manager Maven Capital for a consideration of up to £100m.
The initial consideration is of £80m, and deferred consideration of up to £20m million payable in cash, dependent on Maven meeting performance criteria.
The asset manager has total committed assets under management (AuM) of £772m.
Mattioli Woods believes Maven is a “complementary extension of the group’s investment proposition”.
Fundraise
In other news, Mattioli Woods is planning an equity fundraise by way of the issue of new ordinary shares to raise gross proceeds of approximately £110m.
The wealth manager will issue new equity at the price of 660p per share, available to institutional and retail investors.
The firm said the proceeds of the fundraise will be used “to fund the acquisitions and provide additional funds for the company’s recent and near-term acquisition pipeline, as well as maintaining a regulatory capital surplus and for general working capital purposes”.
‘Significant milestone’
Ian Mattioli, chief executive of Mattioli Woods, said: “These acquisitions mark significant milestones in Mattioli Woods’ journey.
“The acquisitions of Maven and Ludlow Wealth Management represent meaningful progress towards our ambitious medium-term goals. We have a strong track record of combining like-minded businesses that share the same culture and ethos of putting clients first.
“The teams at Maven and Ludlow Wealth Management share our passion for delivering exceptional client outcomes and going the extra mile.
“Throughout our discussions with Bill Nixon at Maven and Ian Hemingway at Ludlow Wealth Management, it has been apparent that we share a desire to continue growing the enlarged group, further enhancing our client proposition and delivering sustainable shareholder returns.
“These transactions represent a complementary extension of the Group’s existing investment proposition and add to our distribution capacity, allowing us to continue developing our product offering, accelerate organic growth and realise both revenue and cost synergies.
“I believe we are better-positioned than ever to provide our clients with the proactive advice and bespoke investment solutions they require.”
