The deal is one of Kingswood's biggest to date and its third takeover this year so far, with more deals in the pipeline.

Kingswood has also completed today a deal to buy Rotherham-based Allots Financial Services Limited for £2.5m.

Kingswood’s acquisition of Joseph R Lamb is its third since the start of the year. The firm also acquired South Yorkshire Financial Planner DC Cooke for £1.5m two weeks ago.

The deal to buy Joseph R Lamb will increase Kingswood's UK client facing advisory team to 90 and UK funds under advice/management to £6.9bn, managed for 18,570 active clients.

Joseph R Lamb Independent Financial Advisers is a long-standing advisory business based in Rayleigh, Essex. 

It was set up in 1970 and provides financial advice to over 1,930 active clients and currently employs seven advisers. It has 18 support staff serving clients mainly in Essex with approximately £393m AUA. On an underlying basis for the 12 month period to June 2021, it generated revenue of £3.8m and EBITDA of £1.545m.

Kingswood will acquire Joseph R Lamb for total cash of up to £15.3m, payable over a two year period. Some £7.65m will be paid at the closing of the deal and the balance paid on a deferred basis, some of which is subject to the achievement of pre-agreed performance targets. Regulatory approval is also required.

Martin Lamb , company principal, said: "I have spent four years investigating our options for a possible merger or sale, looking to find a 'partner' that would enable us to take all aspects of our business forward and improve everything for the benefit of clients and staff.

“I am confident that Kingswood, as a leading advice business, have the team and culture to be able to do this and I am very excited about being able to deliver better outcomes for everybody. We have been impressed with the KW proposition, back office and systems and the depth of quality in their management team. This should enable us to work together for everyone's benefit and deliver my ambition of delivering the best possible long-term outcome for all stakeholders and clients."

David Lawrence, UK CEO at Kingswood,  said: “I’m thrilled to announce the acquisition of Joseph Lamb.  Martin and his team at Joseph Lamb operate a long established and highly regarded business that has had a true client focus over 50 years.  This acquisition creates a hub in Essex for Kingswood from which to grow and increases our footprint in the South which is strategically important to us.

"This is our third acquisition of 2022 and we continue to have a strong pipeline of high-quality UK opportunities under negotiation, four of which are in exclusive due diligence as we continue to grow our Financial Planning and investment management reach across the UK."

The acquisition will be funded by private equity firm HSQ Investment, a subsidiary of Pollen Street Capital.