Ascot Lloyd has obtained financing from funds managed by the credit group of global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation.
The financial terms of the funding were not disclosed.
The financing will be used to support Ascot Lloyd’s growth strategy and will “further increase the capital available for acquisitions to over £100m” ($140m, €116m).
In 2020, Ascot Lloyd completed 12 acquisitions, adding over £6.5m of Ebitda.
Nigel Stockton, chief executive of Ascot Lloyd, said: “We now have in excess of £100m available to invest in acquisitions in the UK market, reinforcing our position as a leading home for high-quality IFAs.
“Recent investments into the sector have highlighted the scale of consolidation set to take place, and Ascot Lloyd is well placed within this.
“The additional funds we now have available will allow us to focus on more meaningful acquisitions while our proven ability to integrate businesses alongside offering a compelling platform for advisers will continue to make us an attractive home for IFAs looking to sell.
“We enter 2021 looking forward to the future.”
‘Well-positioned’
Daniel Sinclair, partner at Ares Management, said: “We believe Ascot Lloyd is a very well-positioned business operating in a market with positive long-term structural drivers.
“In our engagement, we have been impressed by Nigel and the management team. We believe they have a clear growth strategy and have consistently delivered against this in recent years.”
Federico Alvarez-Demalde, managing director of Ascot Lloyd parent group Oaktree Capital Management, added: “For seven years now, Oaktree have had a clear ambition to keep growing the Ascot Lloyd business and we are thrilled to have Ares provide this financing.
“Since 2015, Nigel and his team have been able to double the size of the business every year to 18 months and this transaction will enable us to keep on that growth journey.”
Ascot Lloyd is approaching £10bn in funds under influence, serving more than 21,000 clients through 132 IFAs across 15 locations nationwide.
