Tilney Bestinvest has acquired Towry from majority shareholder Palamon Capital Partners for £600m.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and once complete, the combined business will have responsibility for over £20 billion of assets for affluent and high net worth clients. It creates one of the leading UK wealth management firms offering clients investment management together with financial planning on a national scale.
Back in February when rumours first started about a such a deal taking place, Tilney Bestinvest denied being the potential buyer of Towry. Sources told IFA Magazine that Tilney Bestinvest was not involved in February and only joined the bid process at a very late stage.
CEO of Tilney Bestinvest Peter Hall will become boss of the combined group.
Whilst a review of future branding is carried out by the management, the Towry, Tilney and Bestinvest brands will continued to be used.
The new group will have over 240 financial planners and 120 investment managers operating from more than 30 offices across the UK.
Chief Executive of Tilney Bestinvest Peter Hall said: “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.”
Chief Executive of Towry Rob Devey 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.”
Partner and co-head of the Financial Services team at Permira Philip Muelder said: “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.”
Partner at Palamon Daan Knottenbelt 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.”
Evercore advised Towry on the deal, Citi advised Tilney Bestinvest.
