Acquisitions
Help me to grow or sell my FA firm
City & Capital Acquisitions works with a broad range of financial advisory professionals and organisations, who are actively looking to purchase or sell FA client banks or businesses.
As acquisition brokers, we offer a bespoke search and selection service which has been carefully developed by financial advisers for their peers, in order to deliver tailored introductions, which meet each unique set of requirements.
Whether you are a seasoned acquirer or a first-time buyer, a retiring financial advisor or looking to build your succession plan, it’s important that any acquisition broker truly understands your brand ambitions. As experienced growth consultants, our collective experience enables us to support sellers when preparing a firm for sale, as well as assisting buyers in marketing their FA practice propositions most effectively.
Sell my financial advice business or client bank
1. Appoint a financial advisory brokerWhether you’re a retiring FA looking to sell a client bank, or the owner of a financial advice firm looking to develop an exit strategy, once you’ve made the decision to sell you’ll be looking for an acquisition broker to help with the process.
2. Establish what type of buyer you want for your firmA high-level conversation to determine your motivations for selling will be followed by a conference call or face to face meeting, to understand exactly what you want to achieve from the sale. This will help to define what you do – and don’t – want from an agreement, as well as the types of buyer you’d be looking to sell to.
3. Highlight your FA firm’s selling pointsFollowing our initial meetings, we’ll compile an engaging seller profile which will highlight the USPs of your FA firm or client bank. This is designed to make potential buyers sit up and take notice, and will include a broad location, the selling price, and other notable points, but without disclosing any identifiable information.
4. Find the right buyer for your clientsNext, we’ll research the market and start looking to make introductions – although we may already be aware of some potential buyers who might be aligned with your vision. When we find a suitable acquirer, we’ll share your confidential seller profile. If they are keen to know more, we will then pass on to you the details of the interested party – to ensure your interests are aligned – before moving towards full disclosure and a formal introduction.
5. Agree sale heads of terms and exclusivityIf the meetings between you and a prospective buyer go well, both parties could look to agree ‘heads of terms’ – also known as a letter of intent. This is a document which sets out the terms of a commercial transaction agreed in principle between parties in the course of negotiations. At this point, the buyer and the seller will usually enter into a period of exclusivity, while the buyer engages in the due diligence process.
6. Due diligence and the business saleDue diligence really starts to ramp up once heads of terms have been agreed, and we’ll help you to handle this rather intrusive phase of the sale. Clearly ascertain what information is going to be required at the outset and deliver this in the formats requested. Be prepared to answer tough question and understand that the potential acquirer could ask for further detail.
7. Sale and purchase agreementOnce both parties are happy with the proposed terms, we’ll oversee the exchanging of contracts before the sale of the company is completed.
Purchase a financial advice business or client bank
We understand that once you have decided to acquire a firm – or selected assets – the work has only just begun. While there is a long journey ahead, rest assured that we will be with you every step of the way.
1. Looking to buy a financial advice firm or client bankIf you’re looking to grow your financial services firm through the acquisition of an already-established practice or FA client bank, a financial advisory broker can help to get the ball rolling.
2. Identify what kind of financial advisory business you want to purchaseA high-level conversation to determine what kind of firm you’re looking for, will be followed by a conference call or face to face meeting. This will help us to understand exactly what you want to achieve, in terms of sustained company growth. Are you looking for a retiring FA with a quick exit strategy, or a full team with premises for example?
3. What makes you a good buyer?We will then look to you to provide information about your firm that you would be happy for us to initially share with any prospective sellers. It may be that you have pre-approved literature, or we can work with you to produce a buyer profile which clearly demonstrates why sellers should consider you as an acquirer.
4. Find the right sellerFrom our initial discussions, it may be that we already know a suitable FA who is looking to sell, or we may need to research the market further on your behalf. We’ll speak to each financial advisory firm in turn to establish if they would be interested in taking the conversation further, before sharing pre-approved information about your own business. If they are keen to know more – and you’re happy to proceed – we’ll then move towards full disclosure and a formal introduction.
5. Agree heads of termsIf conversations between you and a seller go well, you may decide to proceed to ‘heads of terms’, also known as a letter of intent. This is a document which sets out the terms of a commercial transaction agreed in principle between parties in the course of negotiations. The heads of terms will usually include an exclusivity clause, to afford you the time to delve deeper into the inner-workings of the company you’re looking to acquire.
6. Due diligence and the business saleIt’s important that once a sale is complete, both sides are suitably happy with the transition, and believe they have made a wise financial decision – so a thorough due diligence process is going to be key, prior to the signing of any contracts. Investigate any high-risk legacy business, undertake a review of a range of different cases from different CF30s, and raise any regulatory or compliance issues too.
7. Sale and purchase agreementOnce both parties are happy with the proposed terms, we’ll oversee the exchanging of contracts before the sale of the company is completed.
We are better... Here’s why
Real world experience
Truly consultative approach
An extension of you and your team
Confidentiality and protecting your reputation is paramount
Meaningful introductions aligned to your goals
A strong network of professionals to ensure smooth end to end process
Download our latest guide
We’re proud of our knowledgeable team and their decades of experience. So much so, that we want to pass that industry know-how onto you.
Drawing upon our own personal experiences, as well as feedback from market research conducted across the financial services industry, our library of straight-talking guides aims to offer further insight into the sector.
Our Acquisitions Case Studies
An independent financial adviser looking to retire
The problem City & Capital Acquisitions was approached by an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) looking to sell their shares in their business and retire. Having previously worked with other brokers – and met with numerous potential acquirers – he was unable to find ‘the complete package’. While a satisfactory sale price was important to the client, the driving force was to provide the ability to leave the industry quickly, following the sale. Furthermore, the seller [...]
A flourishing firm looking to make their first acquisition
The problem City & Capital Acquisitions was approached by a progressive and exciting firm with a strong regional presence. Having grown organically – and done so successfully – the owners were looking to make their first acquisition. With no prior experience, but having appointed two new advisers to its growing team, the firm had the capacity to undertake a small acquisition in order to bolster the assets under management, and make better use of its […]
Business owner looking for a strategic partner
The problem Every so often, City & Capital Acquisitions is contacted by a business owner seeking a strategic partner. This individual owned all the shares in his organisation, with three people in support. As a personable team – which prides itself of offering independent advice to high net worth clients – the company maximises technology to deliver a timely service and a solution that appeals to the younger market. With strong foundations in place, the […]
Latest News
WHY are our sellers selling?
Why are our sellers selling? As Simon Sinek once said – “Start With Why” – so that’s what we do! Why are you thinking about selling your business? In working with our sellers well in advance of beginning the acquisition project, we dig deep, getting to the source of why they are considering a sale,ensuring their objectives are fully met. Here’s a round-up of the top 6 reasons our sellers are seeking an exit, in […]
Can advisers still sell during the pandemic?
When it comes to selling your business, the Coronavirus pandemic has got business owners across the country asking all sorts of questions. And last month, Jonathan Barrow, director of acquisitions at City & Capital, spoke to International Adviser about making a sale amid the covid-19 crisis. We believe that the pandemic has not fundamentally changed the make-up of the financial advice acquisition market, and in case you missed it, you can catch up via the […]
Acquisitions
Whether you’re looking to sell a financial advisory firm or client bank or acquire one, City & Capital Acquisitions is here to help.
Call the office on 0113 457 6701 or, if you’d prefer to speak outside of business hours, complete our online enquiry form and we’ll get back to you.
Discussions are in the strictest of confidence and without obligation.