Prior to publication, the information contained within this
announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of
this announcement, which has been authorised for release by Oliver
Cooke, Chairman, this information is now considered to be in the
public domain.
Tavistock Investments
Plc
("Tavistock" or the "Company")
Strategic acquisition of
Alpha Beta Partners
Completion of disposal to
Saltus
22 November 2024
Acquisition of Alpha Beta Partners ("ABP")
Tavistock (AIM:TAVI) is pleased to
announce that it has exchanged contracts for the acquisition of
ABP, a well-regarded asset management business based in London and
Bath with approaching £3 billion of assets under management and a
strategic focus on retail investors served by regulated advice
businesses which is complementary to Tavistock's own business
positioning.
This acquisition strengthens
Tavistock's asset management scale and solutions provision in the
UK retail investment market. It is a key step in the Group's
refocusing into a much more significant asset manager providing
investment solutions to third party advice firms and networks, as
well as to retail clients directly.
ABP was established in 2017 by a
team of experienced industry professionals led by Geoff Brooks and
Andrew Thompson, to provide a range of outsourced investment
propositions to directly regulated advice businesses and appointed
representative networks. Based on management accounts for the first
nine months of its current financial year, on an annualised basis,
ABP has made EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) of over
£500,000 on turnover of over £4 million and, as at 30 September
2024, had net assets of just over £1.2 million. It is particularly
noted for its Dynamic Asset Allocation process and modular
proposition, providing retail and wholesale investors with
institutional techniques rarely found in this market segment. The
success of its outcome-oriented investment solutions has been
recognised by Defaqto's 5 Star and 5 Diamond Ratings for the past 5
years.
The total consideration to be paid
for ABP will be directly linked to its financial performance over
the next five years. There will be an initial payment of £6.0
million at completion of the acquisition with the maximum potential
consideration capped at £18 million, payable in cash. Completion of
the transaction is subject to change in control approval by the
Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") at which point a further
announcement will be made.
Tavistock's strategy
The Tavistock Board's strategy is to
optimise the balance between regulatory risk and potential
commercial reward to increase the intrinsic value of the Company
for the benefit of its shareholders. This is consistent with ABP's
focus on providing proprietary investment processes balancing
quality asset allocation with rigorous risk management ("Risk
First").
The acquisition is a logical next
step for Tavistock, having completed the planned reduction of the
Group's network of appointed representative firms last year and,
more recently, the disposal of its networks of self-employed
Registered Individuals to The Saltus Partnership Holdings LLP
("Saltus"), which was announced on 1 October 2024.
Completion of disposal of two subsidiary businesses and
funding
All the completion conditions for
the disposal of Tavistock Partners Limited and Tavistock Estate
Planning Services Limited to Saltus have now been satisfied and
Tavistock will receive the initial consideration payment of
approximately £22 million by 2 December 2024. The total
consideration for the disposals of up to £37.75 million
is approaching twice the Company's current market
capitalisation on AIM (some £19.9 million at market close on 21
November 2024) and provides the Company with a substantial level of
funding with which to refocus its activities.
Future profile of Tavistock
The Company has retained both its
profitable, employed adviser business, Tavistock Private Client,
and its profitable protection business, Tavistock Protect. The
Board intends that the provision of investment management services
to the clients of third-party advice businesses, and directly to
the public on a non-advised basis, will become a substantial part
of its service proposition. Hence the addition of ABP to the Group
is particularly fitting, as it will form the cornerstone of the
Company's strategic focus on asset management.
Brian Raven, Tavistock's Chief Executive said
"Alpha Beta Partners is joining us at the ideal
time. Their strategic plans and partnerships gel perfectly with
ours, particularly in terms of how to improve investor services and
value. We look forward to an exciting future together."
Geoff Brooks, ABP's Managing Director said
"We are delighted to be joining Tavistock to
embark on the next phase of our growth and development, allowing us
to continue to both support our existing clients and create new
opportunities. Our team has been very impressed with everyone we
have met at Tavistock and our strategic vision and ambitions are
aligned."
For further
information:
|
Tavistock
Investments Plc
Oliver Cooke
Brian Raven
|
Tel: 01753 867000
|
|
Allenby
Capital Limited
(Nominated
adviser and broker)
Corporate Finance:
Nick Naylor, Liz Kirchner, Daniel Dearden-Williams
Sales and Corporate Broking:
Tony Quirke
|
Tel: 020 3328 5656
|
|
Flagstaff
Communications
(Financial
PR/IR)
Tim Thompson
Alison Allfrey
Anna Probert
|
tavistock@flagstaffcomms.com
Tel: 0207
129 1474
|
|
|
|
About Tavistock
Investments plc
Tavistock Investments is a specialist wealth
and asset management company focused on meeting the specific needs
of private investors and differentiated by its commitment to
excellence and revolutionary thinking.
Within the group, Tavistock Private Client has
been recognised many times for excellent advice services to higher
net worth individuals, winning multiple industry awards. It also
operates an employee benefits business and educational finance
portal, "Tell Me How". Tavistock Asset Management, augmented by the
recent acquisition of ABP, delivers institutional portfolio
management services at a retail price, so that clients benefit from
collective buying power, as well as competitive dealing charges. It
has a range of diversified, multi-asset mandates with risk profile,
levels of active management and portfolio structures tailored to
suit client needs. The third element of wealth management,
Tavistock Protect, provides clients with a comprehensive range of
life insurance and critical illness policies and will shortly be
expanding into the mortgage market.
Tavistock was founded by CEO Brian Raven, who
has been involved in financial services since 2010 and has a wealth
of commercial experience. Together with Chairman, Oliver Cooke, he
founded Card Clear Plc in 1991 to combat the fraudulent use of
plastic payment cards and led it to an AIM listing in 1998. They
then developed a group focused on UK health and fitness sector
loyalty schemes, before Brian invested in the financial services
sector in 2010, later launching Tavistock, along with Oliver, in
2013. The company listed on AIM that year and has been optimising
its business portfolio ever since. Tavistock recently divested two
subsidiary businesses - Tavistock Partners and Tavistock Estate
Planning - to focus predominantly on wealth and asset management
activities. This restructuring has the benefit of optimising the
balance of regulatory risk and commercial reward, as well as
providing significant working and development capital for the
group.
