Acquisition

RNS Number : 7953L

Brooks Macdonald Group PLC

05 August 2011

 



5 August 2011

BROOKS MACDONALD GROUP PLC

Acquisition

Brooks Macdonald Group Plc ("Brooks Macdonald" of the "Group"), the AIM listed integrated wealth management group, today announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Brooks Macdonald Asset Management Ltd has signed an agreement to purchase the investment management activities of national law firm, Clarke Willmott LLP ("Clarke Willmott"), based in Taunton, Somerset, for an initial consideration of £1.56 million in cash which has already been paid from the Group's existing resources.  It is intended that the transaction will complete on 31 October 2011 once legal formalities and client communications have been completed ("Completion").

Additional consideration, also payable in cash from the Group's existing resources, will be paid on Completion and in two tranches 12 and 24 months post-Completion.  The total consideration (including the initial payment of £1.56 million) will be based on a maximum of 3.25% in total of the relevant discretionary funds under management, split across the respective payment dates.  The total consideration will be subject to a maximum of £6 million.

The activities will be integrated into and rebranded as Brooks Macdonald Asset Management Limited ("BMAM"), the Group's discretionary investment management business.  Clarke Willmott's in-house investment management team of eight staff, including five investment managers and three support staff, currently manage approximately £120 million of discretionary client assets.

From Completion, the eight members of staff from the Clarke Willmott investment management team will transfer to the employment of BMAM.  These staff members will continue to be based in Taunton, thereby establishing BMAM's sixth office location, complementing its existing offices in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Tunbridge Wells, and Fareham in Hampshire.  The Board of Brooks Macdonald believes that there is a strong cultural and operational fit between BMAM and the Clarke Willmott investment management team.

The acquisition is in line with Brooks Macdonald's growth strategies of expanding its business by organic investment in its core businesses, acquiring investment management teams and offices, and developing its product and service offering. 

Chris Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Group commented:

"This is a very exciting opportunity for the Group.  The fit with Clarke Willmott's investment management staff is good at all levels and we are delighted to be acquiring such a strong team.  Aside from the many synergies which include investment style, client care, transparency and private client focus, the Group has for some time been considering opening a regional office in the South West.  This acquisition will form the nucleus of our new office, to be based in Taunton, which will open concurrently with the completion of the transaction in November."

Stephen Rosser, Chief Executive of Clarke Willmott LLP commented:

"The availability of high quality investment advice for clients of Clarke Willmott is an important part of our overall strategy and our investment management team has provided excellent client service over many years.  We're delighted to have identified Brooks Macdonald to continue the development of the investment service to our existing clients and we very much look forward to working with them on an ongoing basis."

Enquiries

Brooks Macdonald Group PLC Chris Macdonald - Chief Executive Simon Jackson - Finance Director	020 7499 6424 www.brooksmacdonald.com
Collins Stewart Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Bruce Garrow	020 7523 8350
MHP Communications Reg Hoare / Barnaby Fry/ Simon Hockridge/ Giles Robinson	020 3128 8100

Notes to editors

Brooks Macdonald Group plc is an AIM listed integrated wealth management group. The group consists of three principal companies: Brooks Macdonald Asset Management Limited, a discretionary asset management business; Brooks Macdonald Financial Consulting Limited, a financial advisory and employee benefits consultancy; and Brooks Macdonald Funds, a specialist property fund with a subsidiary estate management company (Braemar).

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management provides a bespoke, fee based, investment management service to private high net worth individuals, charities and trusts. It also provides in-house custody, nominee and dealing services and has existing offices in London, Manchester, Hampshire, Tunbridge Wells, and Edinburgh. Taunton will be its 6^th office.

 

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