Oxfordshire-headquartered Wills & Trusts Wealth Management has acquired Solihull-based IFA firm Personal Touch Financial Services for an undisclosed sum.
Personal Touch Financial Services has around £34m ($41m, €38m) in assets under management. One adviser has joined Wills & Trusts Wealth Management, but a second adviser retired following the deal.
The deal marks the start of Wills & Trusts Wealth Managements growth strategy to find and acquire IFAs close to each of its offices in Thame, Winchester, Moreton-in-Marsh, Henley-in-Arden and Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
The advice firm told International Adviser that it hopes to make three more acquisitions in 2023.
David Batchelor, Wills & Trusts Wealth Management founder, said: “Putting the client first is at the heart of everything we do, and so I see the acquisition of Personal Touch more as a partnership than an acquisition. It means that our increased size gives us more room to pass economies of scale onto the client.”
The acquisition comes several years after IA reported that Wills & Trusts Wealth Management had created a legal practice in a bid to help clients deal with the complexities of estate planning.
The firm has since set up an accountancy arm. It has a complete offering of financial planners, solicitors and accountants under its wealth management banner.