International wealth and investment group Kingswood has acquired Eastleigh-based IFA firm Aim Independent.
Aim provides financial advice to over 750 clients and has around £217m ($294.5m, €258.7m) in assets under management.
Alongside founders Phil Watson and Andy Davies, Aim Independent has three other advisers and six support colleagues looking after clients mainly based in Hampshire.
Following regulatory approval, the business will be acquired for total cash consideration of up to £3.6m, payable over a two-year period. Some £1.8m will be paid at closing and the balance paid on a deferred basis.
Ambitions
David Lawrence, UK chief executive at Kingswood, said: ‘’My ambition for Kingswood is to become a leading wealth management advisory and investment management business, breaking the £7bn AuA/M mark is a huge signal to that as we continue to grow our geographical footprint across the UK.
“Our acquisition of Aim will further expand that reach into a new county in the south. Aim was founded in 2000 and is run by Phil Watson and Andy Davies, who between them they have over 60 years’ experience and an unrivalled commitment to their clients, which fits in perfectly with the culture and ethos at Kingswood.
‘’This is our fourth acquisition of 2022 and we continue to have a strong pipeline of high-quality UK opportunities under negotiation, three of which are in exclusive due diligence.
“Our next near-term target is to build our AuA/M to in excess of £10bn in the UK and £14bn globally and we have the balance sheet to do so.’’
In 2022, Kingswood has bought Essex-based Joseph R Lamb Independent Financial Advisers, Rotherham-based Allotts Financial Services and the business assets of south Yorkshire-based DJ Cooke Financial Planning.
