Verso Wealth Management has acquired Heritage Independent Financial Advisers and IEP Financial Limited today for undisclosed sums.

Heritage is a Financial Planning firm focusing on high-net-worth individuals, families and corporate clients across the Midlands with over £200m in assets under advice.

Founded in 2003, it has a team of 17 financial advisers, Financial Planners, researchers and support staff based in Knowle, West Midlands.

Heritage’s three principal directors, John Shackleton, Patricia Chaplain and Anne Windle, will remain with the firm.

Ms Windle said the acquisition would allow Heritage to relinquish its day-to-day regulatory and operational focus and concentrate on giving clients advice.

John Shackleton, chief executive of Heritage, added: “We are very excited about this next chapter at Heritage. Like all ambitious businesses, we want to continue our success and expand further. Our partnership with Verso advances this and forms a key part of our future growth strategy.”

Verso, a digitally-focused wealth manager, said its acquisition of Heritage extende the firm’s reach across the Midlands and advance its strategy to build a market-leading national wealth management group.

Verso has also acquired Sussex-based IEP Financial. The acquisition of IEP is the fifth for Verso in 2022 and increases its assets under management to £1.8bn.

IEP Financial is a Financial Planning firm serving individuals and corporate clients in Sussex and the South-East. The firm was founded in 2005 and has a team of 34 financial advisers, Financial Planners, researchers and support staff based in Hove, East Sussex. It has assets under advice of over £525m.

IEP’s managing director Patrick Spencer will remain with the firm to expand Verso’s presence across the region.

Mr Spencer said the team chose to sell to Verso to remove many of the challenges and inefficiencies it faced as a business.

Chairman Ian Poysden and director David Williamson will both step back from their management positions but will remain with the firm to look after clients.

Verso financed the acquisitions through capital from private equity investor Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP.

Simon Redgrove, managing director at Verso, said the firm expects to make more acquisitions in 2023.

He said: “With the support of our strategic partners, Cairngorm Capital, and their buy, build and transformation expertise, we have made great progress towards our goal of building a national, market leading wealth management group.”

“This year we completed five acquisitions and we have a pipeline of further investments planned for 2023 so the next 12 months are on track to be transformational.”

Verso has completed five acquisitions in 2022, including four Financial Planning and wealth management firms.

It acquired Pavis Financial Management in January, CDC Wealth Management in March, Campbell Thomson Insurance Services in August and Heritage Independent Financial Advisers and IEP in December.