Charlesbank Capital Partners, a US private equity firm focused on management-led buyouts, growth capital financings and credit and technology investments, has acquired independent financial advisor (IFA) Perspective Financial Group from London-based private equity firm CBPE Capital, which first invested in Perspective in 2019.
Perspective has £8bn in assets under advice, according to a press release. Its management team will remain significant shareholders alongside Charlesbank.
Over the course of its ownership under CBPE Capital, Perspective made over 40 acquisitions including those of the client banks of Simon McGechie and Paul Adams last year, which added £55m of AUM.
In a press statement, Ian Wilkinson, Chief Executive at Perspective, described the advisor’s desire for expansion to over 100 offices and at least 1,500 staff, which would make it one of the largest whole-of-market IFAs in the UK.
Perspective currently has 40 offices across the UK and over 500 staff.
He added: “There will be no changes to the way in which our clients are serviced or charged as result of this transaction, and we firmly believe that our greater scale and resources will result in both an overall reduction in the TER’s paid by our clients and an enhanced client experience.”
David Katz, Managing Director at Charlesbank, said: “We have been thoroughly impressed by Perspective’s client-first ethos, which has established Perspective as a leading provider of impartial, high-quality financial advice in the UK.
“Complementing the Group’s ethical, client-centric culture, their differentiated centralised services and technology have made Perspective a terrific home for advisers and the IFA acquirer of choice, as evidenced by the numerous acquisitions they have successfully completed to date.”
Last week, Charlesbank invested $250m in Rise Growth Partners, a capital financing platform geared towards registered investment advisors.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, and the sale is subject to regulatory approval from the FCA.
CBPE was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Mayer Brown, Deloitte, LEK, Thistle Initiatives and Crosslake.
