Investment firm takes bite out of fast-growing Wealth at Work Group
Liverpool-headquartered Wealth at Work Group has secured investment from New York and London-based Aquiline Capital Partners.
Wealth at Work is a specialist provider of workplace financial education, guidance and regulated financial advice for individuals and employs around 250 people.
It works with more than 450 private and public sector employers including Marks & Spencer, BT, Experian and the NHS, delivering financial wellbeing programmes and retirement services.
Since its 2015 management buyout backed by Equistone Partners Europe, Wealth at Work has continued to achieve rapid growth to meet the significant demand for its services, which are now offered to over a million employees across the organisations with which it partners.
The technology-driven service is bespoke to each client’s requirements through a complete suite of services ranging from seminars and digital tools such as the Financial Healthcheck through to virtual or telephone guidance services and regulated financial advice.
Wealth at Work’s management team, which continues to be led by CEO David Cassidy, will retain a significant equity stake.
Equistone will retain a minority stake in the company alongside Aquiline and management.
David Cassidy, CEO, Wealth at Work
David Cassidy, CEO of Wealth at Work, said: “This investment will allow us to continue to grow and meet the rapidly increasing demand for our services which are used by a number of the largest companies and organisations in the UK.
“I very much look forward to working with Aquiline whose deep understanding of the UK and US retirement market and track record of supporting technology-driven growth will help us further develop our offering to clients, deliver innovation and set new standards of best practice.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Equistone for the support they have provided so far, and we look forward to continuing our work with them as we take our business to the next chapter.”
Private investment firm Aquiline has $6.4bn in assets under management and has been committed to investing in northern England for many years.
Jeff Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Aquiline, said: “Individuals are facing increasingly complex and important financial decisions as they plan for retirement, which Wealth at Work helps them navigate.
“We believe that David and his team have built a platform that can deliver high-quality, personalised financial guidance and advice to a growing number of workplace savers across the UK in a highly scalable and technology-enabled manner.”
Steve O’Hare, senior partner and UK Country Head at Equistone, said: “We are delighted that, after five years of working closely with David and his team at Wealth at Work, the company is in a strong position to explore exciting new opportunities. Wealth at Work has grown significantly since 2015, and through investment in organic and acquisitive growth has emerged as a northern success story.”
Closing of the investment is subject to the parties obtaining relevant regulatory approval.
Evercore provided corporate finance advice and Herbert Smith Freehills provided legal advice to Aquiline. Due diligence was performed by Oliver Wyman (commercial), Deloitte (financial and tax), West Monroe (technology) and Howden (insurance).
Deloitte’s Manchester and London-based Financial Services teams provided corporate finance advice and Travers Smith provided legal advice to Wealth at Work in relation to the transaction.
