Five months after announcing that Novia Financial was being sold to European private equity investor AnaCap Financial Partners, the deal has completed.
The change in ownership will see chief executive Bill Vasilieff leave the business on 30 June 2021.
A spokesperson confirmed to International Adviser that he will remain chairman of Novia Global but hold no role at Novia Financial.
Management changes
Vasilieff passes the reins to Patrick Mill, who will join the business from Wealthtime, an investment platform owned by AnaCap, where he has been chief executive since December 2020.
Mill was previously chief executive of Alliance Trust Savings, having also worked as a sales director at Prudential for five years.
Further changes include:
- Mark Winlow, an experienced independent non-executive director whose previous track record includes roles at Ageas and Starling Bank, has been appointed chairman of the board.
- Additional board appointments include:
- Non-exec Peter Cartwright, partner and head of private equity at AnaCap;
- Non-exec Robert Massey, managing director at AnaCap;
- Independent non-exec Ken Fry, who was previously chief technology officer and latterly chief operating officer of Aberdeen Investment Management;
- Independent non-exec Jane Dale, who is currently a non-executive director for a number of financial services providers. She will chair the Novia audit and risk committee; and
- Dominic Easton, who will be re-joining Novia and taking up the position of chief financial officer
- In addition, Keith Furniss will be taking over from Paul Boston as director of sales on 30 June 2021.
- John Beaumont, David Royds and Paul Parry have all stepped down from the Novia board with immediate effect.
Taking the business forward
Vasilieff said that changes “mark the start of the next stage in the Novia Financial journey”.
“Novia is in great shape with our assets under management having surpassed the £9bn ($12.6bn, €10.5bn) figure for the first time in our 11-year history. Sales for Q4’20 and Q1’21 were also at a record high despite challenging conditions and our Ebitda/profit figures remain strong.
“The substantial investment and operational expertise that AnaCap bring will be instrumental in taking the business forward, ensuring we are well-positioned to accelerate growth, build on service propositions and capture an increased market share.”
He added: “I would like to personally extend a huge thank-you to the board and the Novia team for all their hard work and vision in getting us here. Congratulations also to Keith Furniss who has been with the business for eight years and whose experience and drive will help shape the road map going forward.”
Mill said: “Novia have a formidable reputation in the market for platform innovation as well as for the first-class service which is appreciated by advisers. I am absolutely delighted to be joining the leadership team and am looking forward to building on the strong foundations already in place as we seek to drive the business forward to the next stage of its growth trajectory.”
Nassim Cherchali, partner for M&A at AnaCap, commented: “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 marketing and the building on its successful in-house discretionary fund management solutions.”
