Scottish firm makes double M&A swoop

While it looks at other opportunities in the space

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Dundee-headquartered wealth firm Thorntons Investment has entered into M&A deals with two financial advisory firms.

It acquired Matheson Financial Consulting in Aberdeen and Sonas Wealth Management in Dundee for undisclosed sums.

The deals add around £175m in assets under management to the firm’s existing £420m ($574m, €471m).

Both Matheson and Sonas will retain their business models and leadership, as part of the deal, while the unification under the Thorntons brand will happen in due course.

Back office systems and support functions, however, will be integrated straight away.

‘Regulatory pressures’

In the longer-term, the wealth manager said it will keep looking at opportunities within the advisory M&A market.

Thorntons Investments chief executive Stephen Webster said: “These deals are an important milestone for us. After many successful years, we were keen to start seeking out promising partners who could help us expand our footprint and continue strengthening our financial planning proposition.”

Rory Matheson, director at Matheson Financial Consulting, added: “With regulatory and operational pressures heightening year by year, this deal will not only lighten the load and enable us to devote our full attention to serving clients, but also allow our promising young advisers to flourish.”

Chris Forde, managing director at Sonas Wealth Management, said: “The deal is a positive and natural step for Sonas Wealth Management. Teaming up with a larger local firm with aligned values and aspirations was key to me and I believe it to be beneficial for our clients and team.”

Webster added: “Both Rory and Chris have built up strong reputations locally along with an enviable client base, meaning we will benefit not just from greater efficiencies of scale – which will enable us to streamline services for existing clients – but also their many years of expertise in the business.”

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