Tilney Bestinvest to acquire Towry

Combination will create one of the leading UK wealth management firms offering both financial planning and investment management

Tilney Bestinvest is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement, subject to regulatory approval, to acquire Towry from majority shareholder Palamon Capital Partners for £600 million. The combination will create one of the leading UK wealth management firms offering clients award-winning investment management alongside highly skilled financial planning on a national scale. The combined business will have responsibility for over £20 billion of assets for affluent and high net worth clients.

The combination will bring together two well established and highly successful firms. The enlarged Tilney Bestinvest group will continue to use the Towry, Tilney and Bestinvest brands in different parts of the market while a review of future branding is undertaken. Peter Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Tilney Bestinvest, will lead the combined group.

The combined business comprising over 240 financial planners and 120 investment managers will operate from a network of more than 30 offices across the UK providing full national coverage. The group will offer a comprehensive range of services including investment management, investment advice, financial planning and, in Bestinvest, a state-of-the-art online service for self-directed investors. The majority of the assets will be managed with over 80 per cent. in discretionary investment management services. Over 40 per cent. of assets will be managed for clients with over £1 million.

The increased scale of the combined business will enable it to service clients locally across the UK through its extensive network of offices, offer a broader range of services and continue to make major investments in people, technology, systems and infrastructure to support clients with excellent service and investment performance.

Peter Hall, Chief Executive of Tilney Bestinvest, commented: “This is a transformational deal that will position the combined group as one of the leading UK wealth management firms providing both financial planning and investment management services. Recent changes to pensions have increased further the need for high quality financial advice and investment management and together we will be well placed to help people in this complex area. The combination of Towry and Tilney Bestinvest is compelling because both firms share a culture of aiming to provide the very highest levels of professional and personal client service. We will combine the best of both firms to create market-leading expertise.”

Rob Devey, Chief Executive of Towry, said: “Towry and Tilney Bestinvest are an excellent fit with both firms having highly skilled teams that provide top quality financial planning and investment management services to clients. Moving forwards the combined business will be able to offer an even wider range of services for clients and career opportunities for employees in all parts of the UK. I am proud to have worked with Palamon to make Towry one of the national leaders in the UK wealth management sector. It has been my privilege to lead the Towry business over the last 2 years during which time we have more than doubled profitability whilst driving strong improvements in client satisfaction. I am confident that the enlarged Group will continue to thrive under Peter Hall’s leadership.”

Philip Muelder, Partner and co-head of the Financial Services team at Permira, added: “Since acquiring Bestinvest only two years ago with assets and revenues of £5 billion and £39 million, the Permira Funds have backed Peter Hall and his team to build one of the largest and fastest growing players in the UK wealth management market. The business has achieved this through a series of highly synergistic acquisitions and strong organic growth, which will be further enhanced by its recently launched joint venture with Saga. With over £20 billion of assets and £200 million of revenues once Towry is acquired, the group will have the scale to continue to invest to enhance its range of services for clients and will be well positioned to take advantage of the increasing demand for advice which presents significant growth opportunities.”

Daan Knottenbelt, Partner at Palamon, said, “It has been a tremendous experience to have executed a transformational growth strategy that saw Towry develop from a single office IFA in Marlow with £5 million of revenue to become one of the nation’s leading national wealth managers with revenues of more than £120 million and over £9 billion of assets under management. This is another great example of the power of Palamon’s growth equity investment strategy. Our congratulations go to the Towry senior executives and staff who over the years have worked with great diligence and passion to fulfil the potential of this remarkable success story.”

Towry was advised on the transaction by Evercore and Tilney Bestinvest was advised on the transaction by Citi.

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Press contacts:

Tilney Bestinvest
Jason Hollands 020 3818 6664 / 07768 661382
Gillian Kyle 020 3818 6846 / 07989 650604

Towry
Nick Woods (Instinctif Partners) 0207 866 7904 / 07989 855474

Permira
Noémie de Andia 020 7632 1159
Rory King (Montfort Communications) 020 3770 7906 / 07917 086227

Palamon Capital
Jamie Brownlee (Citigate) 020 7282 2858 / 07595 963 220
James Madsen (Citigate) 020 7282 2966 / 07720 498 405

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