Footballer’s favourite advice firm bought for £45m

Mike Holden and Joel Adams in 2017

Altrincham based financial adviser LIFT financial has been acquired by Brooks Macdonald Group plc for £45m.

The stock market was informed this morning that the shareholders of LIFT will get an initial £30 million, with a further £15m subject to financial targets.

Brooks Macdonald says that acquisition aligns with their strategy by “expanding its client reach and accelerating growth” in Financial Planning. 

LIFT, founded by Mike Holden and Joel Adams has a strong reputation amongst footballers and boasts an active sports division run by Mark Tueart. Its sporting clients include international footballers Angel Gomes, Danny Ings, Mary Earps, Jill Scott and James Maddison. 

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete by the end of March 2025.

Andrea Montague, CEO & CFO of Brooks Macdonald, commented: “I am pleased to announce today the acquisition of LIFT, a high-quality and well-established financial services business with a track record of profitable growth. This is an exciting step in the execution of our strategy and reinforces our commitment to delivering trusted financial planning services backed by best-in-class multi-asset investment solutions. I look forward to welcoming the talented and experienced LIFT team to Brooks Macdonald.”

Joel Adams

Mike Holden and Joel Adams, Founders of LIFT, commented: “We are tremendously proud of the business we have built over the last 17 years, and as part of Brooks Macdonald we will be able to bring a new level of sophistication to our investment proposition, as well as much better opportunities for our people as part of a larger business. We look forward to joining the Group and are excited about the future of our business as we leverage the opportunities this transaction will create for everyone involved.”

The business was founded by Holden and Adams in 2007 after they completed a management buyout from Chartwell. When they founded LIFT-Financial Group they had a team of eight people. 

Now the business has over 90 employees and offices in Altrincham, London and Edinburgh.

Mike Holden

Holden and Adams also own Mana, Manchester’s only Michelin starred restaurant.

As at 31 December 2023, assets under advice (AuA) at LIFT are c. £1.6 billion of which c. £600 million are also Funds Under Management (FuM). LIFT’s high-quality base of c. 1,400 clients is made up of private individuals – predominantly in financial services and professional sports – families and corporate clients. In addition to wealth management, LIFT offers mortgage and insurance services.

LIFT delivered revenues of £11.3 million, EBITDA of £2.5 million and reported PBT of £0.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2023. As of 31 December, 2023, it had net assets of £0.8 million. The Acquisition is expected to be accretive to underlying earnings per share in the first full year of ownership.

The Acquisition will further enhance Brooks Macdonald’s existing financial planning capabilities. The business also recently acquired Lucas Fettes Financial Planning. These acquisitions combined will add over £16.5m of annual revenues and grow AuA by c 70% to create a UK financial planning capability with AuA of c. £6.2 billion (post BMI disposal). 

LIFT forms “a good strategic fit” with the Group’s best-in-class investment management capabilities and provides strong opportunities for growth in the future, the company said.

Up to £5 million paid in a 50:50 mix of cash and Brooks Macdonald shares at the end of the first 12 months following completion dependent on EBITDA financial targets being met.

Squire Patton Boggs and DC Advisory advised the shareholders on the deal.

Squire Patton Boggs: Mae Salem, Louise Parker, Harry Hobson, and Halaina Tak.

From DC Advisory the team was: Andrew Claymore, Charles Tuttle, Charles Noel and Sienna Withers.

 

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close