Financial services group acquired for £16m

Kingswood Holdings an international wealth and investment management group is set to acquire Metnor Holdings ltd, the holding company of IBOSS Group which includes IBOSS Asset Management and Novus Financial Services, in a deal worth up to £16m, including an initial cash consideration of £9.6m.

Harrogate-based IBOSS is a leading provider of managed portfolio services and other investment solutions to UK independent financial advisors, under the leadership of its investment and managing director, Chris Metcalfe who founded the business in 2008. On an underlying basis for the 12 months to 31 October 2021, the group which employs 29 people and has over 6,000 clients, generated revenue of £3.3 million and EBITDA of £1.3 million.

The deal will bring together IBOSS and Kingswood to create a leading UK discretionary fund manager business with “an enviable long-term investment track record”, also includes a maximum of £6.4m of deferred consideration which will be payable over a two year period, some of which is subject to achieving pre-agreed performance targets.

Chris Metcalfe, investment and managing director at IBOSS Group

Metcalfe said: “The synergy of Kingswood and IBOSS gives both parties an exceptional opportunity to enhance their client propositions and range of services. We had several potential suitors, but none realised the intrinsic value of how we manage money and the attraction for advisers that comes with our industry-leading service standards and client communications.

“As part of the Kingswood Group, we will offer our new and existing IBOSS users an exit strategy that will be one of the most attractive in the industry, something that adviser firms have been asking us to facilitate for some years now. We are pleased to be able to deliver precisely what advisers have asked for. For many adviser firms, continuing the investment proposition and not disturbing the client is extremely important.

“As we increase our range of investment services, we realised we would need to keep bolstering our team, especially in light of the Sustainable range, which is particularly research-heavy. Kingswood will offer us the ability to build up our investment team with no affect on to the strategy and methodology.”

David Lawrence, UK CEO at Kingswood

David Lawrence, UK CEO at Kingswood, added: “My ambition when taking the reins of Kingswood’s UK business was, and remains, to create a leading financial advisory and investment management business and this transaction is a big step towards that goal.

“In the IBOSS Group, Chris Metcalfe has built a fantastic brand with a superb Investment track record. From our first meeting, we knew that blending the IBOSS Group with Kingswood would create something special in the sector, harnessing the IBOSS Group’s investment record, product range and open market IFA distribution with Kingswood’s existing discretionary investment expertise and rapidly growing financial planning businesses.

“The IBOSS brand and expertise will be retained, with Chris Metcalfe and his investment team remaining at the helm of the investment strategy, implementation and servicing. With Kingswood’s resources we aim to accelerate growth and create greater reach into the IFA sector. The transaction also allows Kingswood to leverage its successful track record in buying and integrating financial planning businesses by providing the capital to purchase financial planning businesses using IBOSS that wish to exit but don’t wish to risk the investment solution provided to their clients.

“Kingswood’s tailored Personal Portfolio Service (PPS) will strongly complement the Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and Managed Portfolio Services (MPS) products provided by IBOSS, with Kingswood also benefiting from IBOSS’ OEIC products, as together we develop a full range of investment solutions for clients.

“We remain committed to our growth strategy within the UK and internationally. This is our fourth acquisition of 2021, and we have a strong pipeline of high-quality UK opportunities under negotiation, four of which are in the exclusive due diligence stage.”