Palatine backs Wealth at Work £6m secondary MBO

LIVERPOOL-based Wealth at Work, a financial education and employee benefits firm, has undergone a £6m secondary management buyout, backed by Palatine Private Equity.

Palatine, based in Manchester, has provided equity funding alongside the management team led by chief executive David Cassidy, to acquire the business from LDC who originally backed the management team in 2009. 

Although no deal value was officially disclosed, a close source has confirmed it was in the region of £6m. Palatine is understood to have taken a majority stake, although LDC has retained an interest in the business.

The source added that more funds would be made available for capital injection into the business in the future.

Wealth at Work offers education and wealth management services designed specifically for the workplace and delivered by a team of specialists. Its client base includes major FTSE employers including British Telecom, BP and Marks & Spencer as well as a number of leading financial services companies. 

The company has educated more than 30,000 employees covering a range of subjects from pension limits for high earners to share scheme diversification and redundancy to retirement planning.

Gary Tipper, Ed Fazakerley and Beth Houghton made up the deal team for Palatine with Tipper and Houghton joining the Wealth at Work board.

David Cassidy, chief executive of Wealth at Work, said: “This new significant investment into Wealth at Work will allow us to continue to grow quickly and therefore meet the rapidly increasing demand for our services which are now used by a number of the largest companies in the UK.

“I very much look forward to working with Palatine and further developing our offer to clients delivering innovations and setting new standards of best practise. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank LDC for the support they have provided to us over the last two years, during which time we have grown the business significantly.”

Palatine said it will work with the management team in identifying acquisition opportunities as well supporting the continuing organic growth of the business.

Gary Tipper, managing partner at Palatine Private Equity, said: “We are all looking forward to working with David and the team. Regulatory change and the need for employers to drive more employee engagement is driving demand for Wealth at Work services. This is creating significant opportunities both organically and via strategic acquisition in a fast changing market.”

Deloitte provided corporate finance advice with BDO carrying out the financial due diligence. Gateley provided legal advice to Palatine whilst Eversheds and DLA Piper advised LDC and management respectively. Commercial due diligence was carried out by Edison Investment Research with Marsh undertaking insurance due diligence.