Nottingham-headquartered Wren Sterling has agreed to buy Leamington Spa-based advice firm HB&O Financial Services for an undisclosed sum.
The deal is subject to approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HB&O provides investment, pensions, protection and insurance, inheritance tax and mortgages services.
The acquisition will see 22 staff join Wren Sterling, including five financial planners, two paraplanners and a mortgage adviser.
HB&O has £250m ($284m, €286m) in assets under management and over 850 clients. The advice firm also has close links with accountancy firm Harrison Beale & Owen, which will be retained once the deal is finalised.
This is Wren Sterling’s third acquisition of 2022, after it bought Critchleys Financial Planning and Mutual Financial Management. These came a year after the IFA group undertook a management buy-out backed by US private equity firm Lightyear Capital.
More acquisitions
James Twining, Wren Sterling’s chief executive, said: “We’ve already made three strategic acquisitions this year with further deals to follow. This is accelerating our growth, bringing fresh ideas into the business, and giving us real presence in key geographic locations.
“The West Midlands, and in particular Warwickshire, has huge potential which we can now tap into alongside the HB&O Financial Services team. I’m keen for us to learn from their experience of building a fantastic business and presence in their local area and to support their team’s further professional development.”
Jason Strain, managing director of HB&O Financial Services, added: “Joining the Wren Sterling Group is a logical next step for our business after years of building under our own steam. The opportunity to benefit from the scale and quality of Wren Sterling’s central operational, finance, HR and compliance resources is really appealing as it frees up time for us to concentrate on doing what we love most – servicing clients.”
