M and A
Ascot Lloyd Expands UK Footprint With Acquisition

The UK wealth manager has extended its regional presence with the acquisition of a firm in the South West of England.
UK independent financial advisor group Ascot Lloyd has acquired
Harvard Financial Management, a business based in Dorset in the
South West of England, part of a continuing process of mergers
and tie-ups in wealth management.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed
yesterday.
Harvard specialises in providing pensions, investment,
wealth management, financial planning and life insurance services
to private clients.
A number of Ascot Lloyd financial advisors will join the nine
Harvard staff based in Christchurch, Dorset, as part of a
“collaborative approach”, Ascot Lloyd said.
The acquisition is an example of a trend of M&A activity in
the financial advisor and wealth management space, prompted by
rising regulatory costs and a need for scale. This publication
recently interviewed the chief executive of Fairstone Group, one
of a number of IFA “aggregators” building networks via
acquisitions. (For
more on that story, see here.)
Harvard will trade as Harvard Financial Management, part of the
Ascot Lloyd Group, Ascot Lloyd said in a statement.
Ascot Lloyd employs 168 staff managing more than £2 billion from
locations including London, Christchurch, Manchester, Wokingham,
Cardiff, Rickmansworth, Harrogate and Wolverhampton. In early
July, Ascot Lloyd launched a private office to provide
wealth management services to high net worth individuals and
families, typically those with net investable assets of at least
£500,000 ($647,000). (See
here.)