Foster Denovo Group, the parent company of national financial advisory business Foster Denovo Limited, has secured more than £800mn of assets under advice, following the completion of seven internal practice buy-outs.
Last year, Foster Denovo secured up to £100mn of funding from Crestline Investors to drive its acquisition and growth strategy.
The deal saw Crestline take a minority stake in Foster Denovo with the founding leadership team retaining control of the business.
In the past 12 months, Foster Denovo has completed seven internal acquisitions from 17 advisers, through practice buy-outs (PBOs) across both its private client and corporate businesses.
Together, the deals add £5mn in annual Ebitda to the business, while boosting the number of Foster Denovo’s employed advisers to more than 70.
Roger Brosch, chief executive officer at Foster Denovo, said: “Key to our objectives for securing external funding was to find a partner who was culturally aligned, shared our values for putting clients first and delivering outstanding service, and which saw us retain control of how we continue to build the business.”
As well as more PBOs, Crestline’s investment will be used to drive external acquisitions across the UK over the next five years, with a number already in the pipeline for 2023, the firm explained.
Henna Fry, director of corporate development, said: “Alongside external acquisitions, we see PBOs both as a great option to offer to practice owners as a way to future-proof their business, and to continue to grow Foster Denovo through the addition of likeminded and culturally compatible people who are looking for a PBO underpin further down the line.
“Our role is to facilitate a smooth transition for those wanting to access a centralised, market leading proposition, giving advisers the tools and resources needed to best serve their clients and to enhance their practice value.”
Fry said the motivations for a buy-out are bespoke to each individual or practice, and each deal will, and should, look different.
She added: “We pride ourselves on having a flexible model that acts as a facilitator, rather than a consolidator, offering a range of exit options, including a retirement/succession plan for our existing self-employed advisers, or a de-risking option for existing or incoming younger advisers who wish to continue to look after their clients well into the future as part of an enlarged group on an employed basis.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
What do you think about the issues raised by this story? Email us on ftadviser.newsdesk@ft.com to let us know
