Seneca in £6m deal for Miton’s Liverpool fund management arm
SENECA Partners, the North West financial group, has announced its biggest acquisition to date, as its Seneca Investment Management division snapped up a Liverpool fund management business for up to £6.4m.
The Haydock-based group founded in 2010 and with operations spanning corporate finance, wealth management, investment and pursuing interest rate swap mis-selling claims against banks, is buying AIM-listed Miton Group’s Liverpool fund management arm, Miton Capital Partners.
Miton Capital Partners employs 14 people in Liverpool and as of December 31 2013 had assets under management of £450m.
Seneca Investment Managers is paying an initial £3.5m plus a further £1.9m three months after completion and a deferred payment of up to £1m payable over the next two years.
For the month ended December 31 2013, the funds managed from Liverpool generated revenue of £239,000 and there were attributable costs before tax and amortisation of £136,000.
Average assets under management for the 12 months ended December 31 was £466m, with an average annualised net margin of 0.66%.
Stuart Eaton, chief executive of Seneca Investment Managers, said: “Miton Capital Partners is a perfect fit for us – strategically, logistically and geographically.
“We had wanted to expand our asset management operations in order to offer a more holistic proposition to our clients; and the funds and experience we have acquired enable us to do just that.
“With the acquisition of this profitable and proven business, we now have the foundations in place to build the Seneca brand and realise our broader goals for the group.”
Ian Dighé, executive chairman of Miton Group added: “The clients investing in our Liverpool funds have enjoyed improved performance over recent years, and we believe the improved trend will be sustained following the transaction with Seneca. We look forward to working with Seneca in future.”
