The UK wealth manager says it wants to offer advice firms an alternative to the consolidators currently out there, providing respite from a profit-driven buy and hold culture.

Liberate Wealth, a specialist financial planning and wealth management business, has launched with the acquisition of Ebor Financial Planning, a Yorkshire-based financial planning firm.

The sale was for an undisclosed sum. The transaction brings around £200 million ($244 million) in assets under management to the company, and offers life planning, advice and investment solutions to clients. David Dixon, founder of Ebor Financial Planning which is located in Thornton, Yorkshire, will remain as a consultant to Liberate Wealth, providing support with the integration, the firm said in a statement.

Led by chief executive officer Mark Howlett, Liberate Wealth offers financial planning and investment management services for investors on a nationwide basis. 

“The north of England is an important region for us strategically and offers a great opportunity to continue to grow the business organically. We have taken the time to build a proposition that we know appeals to the advisors we want to work with – providing greater access to fund research, wider investment options for clients, improved transparency, technology and reporting functions, all underpinned by ethical values which prioritise clients, colleagues and the environment,” Howlett said. 

Howlett, who has spent 35 years in the industry in senior roles in financial planning, employee benefits and pensions, was most recently joint CEO of sustainable impact investing financial planning and wealth firm, EQ Investors. He founded Liberate Wealth in February 2022.

“We wanted to offer advice firms an alternative to the consolidators currently out there, providing respite from the profit-driven buy and hold culture that has become commonplace,” Howlett continued.

“It has been hugely rewarding to witness my team advance in their own careers and I am pleased to know their progression will continue under the stewardship of a business with the strategic vision and resources to guide us onwards,” Dixon added. 

Liberate Wealth’s acquisition of Ebor took place with the advice of Bovill, Buzzacott and Mariott Harrison. The firm said it expects to make further announcements later in the year.