UK advice giant Ascot Lloyd has bought Aberdeen’s financial advice arm, Aberdeen Financial Planning, for an undisclosed sum.
Aberdeen has been searching for a buyer for its financial planning business since the beginning of the year, and it was revealed to be in advanced talks with Ascot Lloyd in June by Citywire.
The acquisition will add 6,300 clients to Ascot Lloyds’ client base and around £3.6bn of assets under advice, taking its total client base to 44,000 and its assets under advice to £14.5bn.
Around 60 advisers are expected to join the business from Aberdeen Financial Planning, taking its adviser headcount to over 220.
Ascot Lloyd chief executive, Francis Jackson, said: “This acquisition meaningfully increases our scale, capabilities and expertise and will further support our continued growth – both organically and inorganically – while excelling in our delivery for clients.”
Ascot Lloyd will continue to use Aberdeen’s Wrap platform after the deal is finalised. The firm said the acquisition will help to accelerate its growth in both the ‘high-net-worth’ and ‘younger client’ segments.
Aberdeen Financial Planning is currently part of Aberdeen’s Interactive Investor business, one of its three core businesses.
Richard Wilson, group chief executive of Aberdeen, said: “While we ultimately concluded that the face-to-face holistic financial advice model is not the best fit with the Interactive Investor digital platform, we are confident it is well placed to thrive under Ascot Lloyd’s ownership.”
Ascot Lloyd is backed by private equity firm Nordic Capital.
