UK wealth manager and Financial Planner Kingswood has completed the acquisition of US wealth manager Chalice and has signed terms to acquire a majority stake in a second US adviser, Manhattan Harbor Capital.

AIM-listed Kingswood say the firms will be rebranded as Kingswood US and form the base for future US growth.

Once the deals are completed Kingswood will have 180 authorised representatives in the US managing Assets Under Management of £1.6 billion.

The firm sees opportunities to grow in the US where it plans to target the £26.2 trillion wealth management market.

Kingswood acquired an 85% interest in Chalice Capital Partners and Chalice Wealth Advisors for £3.2m and says it has has received regulatory approval and formally closed the acquisition.

The remaining Chalice shareholder has exercised their put option over the remaining 15% interest so Chalice is now wholly owned by Kingswood.

Chalice Capital Partners is an independent broker / dealer and Chalice Wealth Advisors is a Registered Investment Advisor, both located in San Diego, California. Chalice provides securities brokerage, advisory and investment banking services to individuals and corporate clients. It has 96 authorised representatives.

The maximum payment for 100% of Chalice is £3.2 million and an initial sum of £0.8 million was paid in December 2019. The second tranche of £0.8 million has also now been paid by Kingswood. The remaining balance of £1.6 million will be paid in 2020 subject to Chalice meeting pre-agreed financial targets.

To finance the second tranche Kingswood issued 869,000 new convertible preference shares acquired by HSQ Investment Limited, which is controlled by private equity firm Pollen Street Capital.

Manhattan Harbor Capital (MHC) will also be renamed Kingswood US.

MHC is a holding company with operations in New York and Atlanta that acquires, consolidates and manages independent Broker Dealers (IBDs) and Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) across the US. As of 2019, the firm had 31 registered representatives and 35 employees in total.

On completion of the deals Kingswood US will have offices in New York, Atlanta and San Diego.

Derek Bruton joins Kingswood as part of the Chalice acquisition and will take on the role of CEO of Kingswood US and partner with Mike Nessim, the current majority owner and leader of MHC.

Gary Wilder, group CEO at Kingswood, said: "Kingswood’s enhanced investment in MHC will cement a key, strategic foothold in the largest global wealth and investment management market, differentiate us from our peers and support our aspirations of asset linking and cross-selling services."

Kingswood has 7,000 active clients and £2.5 billion of Assets under Management and Advice. It has offices around the UK including Derby, London and Sheffield and overseas in Johannesburg, South Africa and New York, USA.