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Davy Buys Belfast IFA In Bid For UK & Northern Ireland Expansion
Davy Private Clients, the Northern Ireland-based wealth management and financial planning division of J&E Davy, has acquired Belfast IFA, Square Seven Financial Planning, as the firm begins its UK expansion.
Davy Private Clients, the Northern Ireland-based wealth management and financial planning division of J&E Davy, has acquired Belfast IFA, Square Seven Financial Planning, as the firm begins its UK expansion.
Established in 2005, Square Seven advises private, corporate, trust and pension clients in Northern Ireland. Its two founding directors David Rea and Sam Curry have over 50 years of combined financial and investment experience and will join Davy’s existing Belfast-based private client team upon completion of the acquisition.
The Square Seven deal is Davy’s first acquisition in Northern Ireland, and the firm’s fourth acquisition in under two years following the purchases of Bloxham Stockbrokers, Prescient Investment Managers (Ireland) and investment consultancy iCubed.
“Having invested over £33 million ($54.2 million) in our investment and operational infrastructure over recent years, we are well positioned to provide enhanced service. During this period we have added over 100 staff to our offices in Ireland and the UK,” said Davy’s chief executive Tony Garry.
More acquisitions to follow
The acquisition comes after Davy Private Clients (NI) grew its assets under management by over 20 per cent in 2013, in addition to receiving a tender for one of the largest public service investment management contracts in Northern Ireland. Consequently, the firm said that it is looking to grow the business significantly.
“Northern Ireland is a material part of Davy’s overall private client business, and we see it as an area of key strategic growth in the coming years. We will continue to review further potential acquisitions in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the UK-centric investment, operational and regulatory processes we have established in Northern Ireland gives Davy the platform to assess growth opportunities into the wider UK mainland,” explained Stephen Felle, managing director of Davy Private Clients (NI).
