Acquisitive Financial Planning and wealth management firm Kingswood has acquired Lincoln-based Chartered Financial Planner JCH Investment Management for £3.5m. 

It is one of two deals announced today by Kingswood which has also completed the takeover of Bucks-based Financial Planner Employee Benefit Solutions (EBS).

Kingswood says it has five more aquisitions in the pipeline. 

JCH advises clients across Lincolnshire and has three advisers and seven employees working under CEO John Hebblethwaite, a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner.

It manages over £105m in client assets for over 240 clients. In the year ending 31 July 2022, JCH generated revenue of £901,000 and profit before tax of £406,000. 

JCH will be acquired for a total cash sum of up to £3.5m, payable over a two-year period, £2.1m of which will be paid on receipt of regulatory approval and the balance paid on a deferred basis subject to hitting agreed performance targets. 

Bucks-based EBS offers Financial Planning, retirement planning, savings and investment  advice, protection and inheritance tax planning. It has three lead advisers and seven staff in total. EBS has over £135m in Assets Under Advice and in the year ending March 2022 had revenue of £1.56m and profit before tax of £806,000.

The business is being acquired for up to £5.08m in cash, payable over a five-year period. £2.75m will be paid at closing and the balance paid on a deferred basis.

The latest deals increase Kingswood's client-facing advisory team to more than 110 and funds under advice/management to over £8bn across the UK & Ireland

Kingswood Group assets under advice total over £10 billion globally, including the firm’s US interests.  

The acquisition of JCH Investment Management Limited is subject to regulatory approval, Kingswood says.

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 has 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."

John Hebblethwaite of JCH said: “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.

“I spent over two 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 for the benefit of clients and staff alike. I am confident that Kingswood, as a major leading advice business, have the team and culture to be able to do this. We have been very impressed with the depth of quality in their management team.

“This is an important and positive step forward for JCH, as Kingswood share our fundamental ethos on providing an exemplary service to clients first and foremost.”

David Lawrence: “I’m delighted by the ever expanding footprint of Kingswood into new counties, as well as announcing the acquisition of JCH today, the completion of EBS also takes us into a new county.  For over 30 years, EBS have a long-established presence in Buckinghamshire. They have a simple aim; to make complicated financial matters as simple as possible to help clients meet their goals and make their life as easy as possible. This mirrors what we strive for at Kingswood.

“We have a strong pipeline of activity, with a further five potential acquisitions in exclusive due diligence. Our near-term target is to build our UK AUA/M in excess of £10bn in the UK and £14bn globally.”