Private equity investor Pollen Street Capital is to acquire SIPPs and Financial Planning firm Mattioli Woods in a £432m deal announced today.

Pollen Street has set up an acquisition vehicle, Tiger Bidco, to acquire Mattioli Woods for £432m in cash.

Under the deal, Pollen's Tiger Bidco will pay 804p in cash for Mattioli Woods, a 34% premium to the Mattioli share price on 7 March.

Mattioli Woods has acquired several firms in recent years including a number of Financial Planning firms (see below).

Pollen Street Capital has also made a number of acquisitions in the financial services sector and owns expanding wealth manager and Financial Planner Kingswood.

Mattioli Woods directors said they believed that the acquisition provided an “attractive offer” for Mattioli Woods shareholders and will enable Mattioli Woods to continue its expansion.

Mattioli Woods is headed by founder and chief executive Ian Mattioli.

Mr Mattioli said: "Since our admission to AIM in 2005, we have seen significant expansion in both the size and nature of our business, integrating asset management, Financial Planning and employee benefit services to serve personal and corporate clients throughout the UK.

“We have a strong track record of combining like-minded businesses that share the same culture and ethos of putting clients first. The team at Pollen Street Capital share our passion for delivering exceptional client outcomes and have demonstrated their ability to partner with entrepreneurial financial services business. I believe that with Pollen Street Capital's support and access to capital we can accelerate the delivery of our strategy and provide our clients with the proactive advice and bespoke investment solutions they require."

Lindsey McMurray, managing partner of Pollen Street Capital, said: "We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Mattioli Woods Board on the terms of Bidco's offer to Mattioli Woods shareholders.

“We believe Mattioli Woods would benefit from a transition to private ownership, which would enable Mattioli Woods to accelerate its growth strategy and to capitalise on the market opportunity in UK wealth management. Pollen Street Capital has strong heritage in supporting companies in the financial and business services sectors and we are excited by the opportunity to work with Mattioli Woods in achieving our ambitious goals for the business."

In February, Mattioli Woods reported pre-tax profits up 60% to £7.6m in the six months ended 30 November 2023 with revenue over the same period up 8% to £59.1m

The company reported increased demand for wealth management and Financial Planning advice, driven by proposed pension and investment reforms and market conditions.

The acquisitive company said it had a pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities this year following a busy year in 2023.

In December its private equity division Maven Capital Partners acquired EIS manager Newable Ventures Limited as part of a move into the Enterprise Investment Scheme market.

In September, its subsidiary Ludlow Wealth Management acquired £53m AUM Blackpool-based Opus Wealth Management Limited in a deal potentially worth more than £1.4m.

Earlier last year it acquired a 50.1% stake in Lincoln-based mortgage adviser White Mortgages for £425,000. It also acquired Northern Ireland Financial Planner Doherty Pension & Investment Consultancy for £15.048m. 

The Pollen Street Capital takeover of Mattioli Woods is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.