The latest mergers, acquisitions and other corporate actions in the wealth management sector.

Evelyn Partners 
Evelyn Partners has acquired Leathers LLP, a firm of chartered accountants and tax specialists with offices in Newcastle and Harrogate.

Leathers, which was founded in 1990, focuses on advising high net worth individuals, families, business owners and corporates, with expertise in personal and business tax planning, succession planning, as well as property and business structuring. It offers a broad array of audit, accountancy, tax compliance and corporate finance services.

Andrew Wilkes, chief professional services director of Evelyn Partners (pictured), said: “We are delighted to have acquired Leathers LLP. Michael Leather has built a highly respected firm with a great client base and one which is a very complementary fit with Evelyn Partners both in terms of expertise and culture. Strategically this acquisition will further develop our professional services presence in the North of England, supporting our ambition of being able to provide our range of professional services to private clients and businesses right across the UK. I look forward to welcoming Stuart Wright and Ryan Harrison to the partnership group where their expertise and experience will be a great asset to us in developing our professional services offering in the North of England.”

Michael Leather, senior partner and founder of Leathers LLP, said: “Forward planning, client service and development of the team have been at the forefront of our success but, in a changing environment, it is time for the business to gear up, extend the resources available to clients and to further develop the client service offering. Identifying the best way to do this has been challenging, but Evelyn Partners’ clear commitment to developing the business and their range and depth of resource have been key to the decision we took.”

Evelyn Partners is an integrated wealth management and professional services group, created following the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson in 2020. With £53.0 billion of assets under management (as at 31 December 2022), it ranks as the second largest UK wealth manager measured by EBITDA and the fifth largest professional services firm ranked by fee income (source: Accountancy Age 50+50 rankings, 2022).

Investec Wealth & Investment
Investec Wealth & Investment, a UK wealth manager, has announced that it has completed its acquisition of wealth management company Murray Asset Management for an undisclosed sum.

Leigh Yeaman, Investec Wealth & Investment’s divisional director of Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “The team’s discretionary management capabilities combined with financial planning expertise make them a perfect cultural fit for Investec Wealth & Investment."

Between them, the 20 staff of Murray Asset Management have more than 100 years of experience helping clients realise their financial goals. The company provides a wealth management suite of products and services for clients, the firm said in a statement.

The deals are examples of a consolidation and M&A trend in UK wealth management in the wealth management space, as advisors seek to pool costs, or look for routes to sell a business and retire at a time of rising compliance and client demands. Similar forces are driving such consolidation among registered investment advisors in the US. Data from law firm Mayer Brown recently showed that the number of M&A deals targeting UK financial advisors and wealth managers rose by 11 per cent from 398 to a record high of 440 in the past year.