We have made good progress this year in growing our business and are pleased to announce the conditional acquisition of Harpsden Wealth Management. This continues the group’s momentum in the Wealth Management division and complements the growth within our newly-formed Capital Markets Division (which incorporates Corporate & Institutional Broking). The Harpsden acquisition will take our overall AUM across both divisions to £2bn, and our Discretionary AUM to over £1bn.
We have also made some significant new hires, including Fraser Marshall joining the team as Head of the Capital Markets division. These moves are a reflection of our ambition to add to our existing strong position and to further enhance the service we provide to our clients. Recent client surveys in Wealth Management, as well as new business won in the Capital Markets division, demonstrate these capabilities in action as well as the potential for further growth. In addition, the support from shareholders gives us confidence to be even more ambitious.
Our three year ambition is to grow Discretionary AUM to £3bn through organic growth, increasing our financial planning penetration as well as inorganic growth. In our Capital Markets division the aim is to double the revenue over the next three years by building out our existing high quality proposition – we have made a strong start.
Growth in Wealth Management
We are delighted to announce that we have entered into an Acquisition Agreement to conditionally acquire the entire issued share capital of Harpsden Wealth Management. Established in 2008 and based in Henley-on-Thames, Harpsden is a privately-owned, award-winning company dedicated to helping private clients and trustees to structure, manage and protect their wealth.
Stephen Ford, Head of Wealth Management, commented: “Harpsden is a high-quality discretionary investment manager and Chartered independent adviser. Given the shared business philosophy centred around personal independent financial advice and discretionary investment management, we believe this acquisition is an excellent fit for us. We look forward to supporting the strong relationships Harpsden have built and helping the team to deliver their clients financial aspirations.”
The total consideration is up to £7.8m, with an initial cash consideration of up to £5.3m, and two further contingent payments, each of £1.25m dependent upon Harpsden meeting certain pre-agreed revenue performance targets. Alongside the proposed acquisition, WH Ireland has today also completed a conditionalplacing to raise £5.3m at 40pence per share with backing from some of its Directors and institutional shareholders.The transaction is conditional on matters such as the completion of the placing and the passing of certain resolutions at the upcoming General Meeting.
Winning in Capital Markets
Notable Transactions
New Clients
