Leicester-headquartered wealth manager Mattioli Woods has acquired 100% of the share capital of Doherty Pension & Investment Consultancy for a total consideration of up to £15m ($18.7m, €17m).
Doherty’s is a financial planning and wealth management businesses in Northern Ireland, with a specialist pension expertise and a discretionary investment management offering.
It currently advises approximately 1,320 private clients and has combined assets under advice and administration of over £635m. The business employs 28 staff and Doherty’s management team will be retained by Mattioli Woods following the acquisition.
The deal expands Mattioli Woods’ existing footprint in Northern Ireland following its acquisition of Northern Ireland-based pension advice firm SSAS Solutions (UK) for around £4m in 2019.
Total consideration of the deal is just over £15m comprising upfront consideration of £6.78m in cash and £2m in new ordinary shares in Mattioli Woods. This is plus deferred consideration of £1.5m and contingent consideration of up to £4.77m payable in cash in the two years following completion, dependant on Doherty’s meeting and outperforming forecast earnings.
‘Rare’
Michael Wright, group managing director of Mattioli Woods, said in a London Stock Exchange announcement: “It is very rare that such a great opportunity to bring one of the largest financial planning businesses in Northern Ireland into the Mattioli Woods Group presents itself. In over 30 years of operations, Doherty’s has built a solid and respected reputation, with integrity and professionalism at the heart of its client service.
“It was clear from our initial discussions that Doherty’s is a great fit culturally and strategically, including a focus on long-term client relationships, serving a similar client base to our existing business. This acquisition is an important step forward for Mattioli Woods, strengthening our position as the only small self-administered scheme and self-invested personal pension (Sipp) operator based in Northern Ireland.
“There are many complementary elements between our businesses enhancing our specialist pension, discretionary portfolio management and financial planning propositions. We believe the range of products and services that Mattioli Woods has to offer can support the excellent outcomes from which Doherty’s clients already benefit.”
This is Mattioli Woods’ first deal of 2023 and is its first involvement in an acquisition since its subsidiary Ludlow Wealth Management bought the trade and assets of Glasgow-headquartered Ferguson Financial Management for a total consideration of £1.2m.
