Mike Coady, managing director of deVere UK, said 2015 was already the company’s most successful year to date, largely due to strong demand for its services from returning British expats and the impact of the new pension freedoms.
“Our comprehensive business forecasts indicate that 2016 will be an even brighter year,” Coady said in a statement.
“Clients continue to demand more from us across our brands – deVere United Kingdom and deVere Mortgages – and we are up for the challenge. We expect to be able to satisfy this appetite for our service by achieving at least a 50% increase in our business in Britain over the next 12 months.”
DeVere UK specialises in retirement planning, overseas pensions, life assurance, investment planning and succession planning.
Expat demand
“DeVere Mortgages has experienced a month-on-month increase in enquiries since it was launched as a standalone brand in January 2015, with a considerable surge in the last quarter,” Coady said.
“More than 70% of all enquiries come from foreign nationals or British nationals living and working abroad. The overwhelming majority of these individuals, approximately 60%, currently reside in Switzerland, UAE, Qatar and the Far East,” he said.
To meet the expected rise in demand Coady said the company planned to take on more graduates through its graduate programme and had recruited additional staff.
It has also announced a series of internal moves.
Kevin White, former head of UK financial planning, is to be head of distribution; Lee Grimshaw, former senior paraplanner, has become head of proposition; Chris Barry, head of the pension review team becomes head of retirement; and Mitch Hopkinson, former head of East Midlands becomes head of advice.
Hopkinson is also to lead the new High Net Worth division, which has been launched to cater for the needs of the UK’s most affluent clients who will typically have more than £1m (€1.3m, $1.45m) of investable assets.
“Throughout 2015 we have continued to attract so many high net worth clients, it is a natural progression to create a division to serve their often unique and specialist financial planning and wealth management needs,” Coady said.
