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

Kingswood Holdings, JCH, EBS
Kingswood Holdings, a wealth and investment management group, has acquired JCH Investment Management, a financial advice firm based in Lincoln, subject to regulatory approval.

JCH, whose clients are predominantly based in the Lincolnshire area, manages over £105 million ($118 million) of client assets for over 240 clients, the firm said in a statement. The business will be acquired for a total cash consideration of up to £3.5 million, payable over a two-year period, £2.1 million of which will be paid upon receipt of regulatory approval and the balance paid on a deferred basis which is subject to the achievement of pre-agreed performance targets, the firm continued.

Kingswood also exchanged and completed the acquisition of EBS, a financial planning firm based in Buckinghamshire.
 
EBS offers a wide range of financial planning services including; retirement planning, savings and investment advice, protection, and inheritance tax planning. With three lead advisors and seven colleagues in total, EBS holds over £135 million AUA, the firm said.
 
The business will be acquired for a total cash consideration of up to £5.08 million, payable over a five-year period. £2.75 million will be paid at closing and the balance paid on a deferred basis, the firm added.
 
These transactions will boost Kingswood's client-facing advisory team to over 110 people and funds under advice/management to over £8 billion across both the UK and Ireland.

Welcoming the move, David Lawrence, Kingswood Group CEO, said: “As well as announcing our completion of EBS today, I am delighted to announce the acquisition of JCH. Led by John Hebblethwaite, over many years JCH have built deep and enduring relationships with their clients and John and his team have a strong cultural alignment with Kingswood.”
 
“This Acquisition also allows us to consolidate our existing footprint in Lincolnshire and, in doing so, create a scalable hub from which to grow. On completion, the existing Kingswood team will co-locate with the JCH team in the JCH premises,” he continued.
 
“Kingswood continues to be an acquisitive business and has a further five purchase transactions under exclusive due diligence that we expect to close in the coming months. Our near-term target is to build our UK AUA/M in excess of £10 billion in the UK and £14 billion globally,” he said.
 
John Hebblethwaite from JCH added: “We are delighted to be joining the Kingswood Group. This is an exciting development for the business, providing additional expertise, capability, and funding to continue our long-term track record of providing a best-in-class service for our clients. Kingswood shares our vision and beliefs of empowering its employees to provide excellent client service and this move gives the perfect outcome for both our clients and team for their future prosperity.”