Further acquisitions are on the cards.

OakNorth is providing a loan facility to MRW to support its ‘buy-and-build strategy’ which it has launched with the acquisition of the three IFA businesses.

The deal brings together Emet Financial Services, founded in 2015; Aylesbury-based Merlin Wealth Planning, founded in 2018 and Taunton-based Mayfayre Financial Services, founded in 2004.

The firms will be brought under the newly established and independently-owned holding company MRW Group.

James Moyses and Adam Royce, founders of Merlin Wealth Planning, will join MRW Group.

The MRW group provides Financial Planning, investment, and pensions advice to individuals and corporates and will serve more than 1,500 clients with over £150m of assets under management.

The group has offices in Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Somerset, with further expansion planned this year, it said.

The combined group has completed 10 acquisitions since 2019 and the loan facility from OakNorth will be used to accelerate its acquisition programme, OakNorth said.

Steve Winter, director of MRW Group, said: “The merger of Emet, Merlin and Mayfayre brings together three established firms that share the same client-led values, with a personalised approach built on trust and stability. This funding from OakNorth is an exciting next step in our ambitious and proven buy-and-build strategy. The OakNorth team invested significant time and effort to understand a complex transaction, with an outstanding level of commitment and service that we recognise from our own business.”

Stewart Haworth, director of debt finance at OakNorth, said: “We were delighted to support MRW Group on this transaction – it is a clear demonstration of the breadth and depth of experience we have at OakNorth, and our ability to support businesses with complex transactions.

“Adam, James, and Steve have almost 70 years of IFA and M&A experience between them, so have a clear understanding of the market dynamics and opportunities. I have no doubt MRW’s buy-and-build strategy will be a huge success, and we look forward to supporting them on future acquisitions.”

OakNorth Bank was launched in 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs. Since launch it has lent over £10bn and says it has directly helped with the  creation of 40,000 new jobs and 29,000 new homes across the UK. It has raised deposits from about 175,000 savers.  It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.