Towry

Towry logo

Invested:
February 2003

Exited:
August 2016

Return:
12.5x MOC / IRR 26%

Sector:
Financial Services

Stage:
Late (core strategy)

Headquarters:
London, UK

Region:
UK

Business:
Wealth management

 

Business at time of investment

Palamon originally invested in John Scott & Partners, a small, founder-led IFA, managing around £250million of clients asset based in Marlow.

Investment rationale

In 2002, Palamon initiated a review of the highly fragmented independent financial advisor (IFA) industry in the United Kingdom, believing that significant changes underway would open up opportunities for the creation of a new national leader. Palamon began a buy-and-build strategy in 2003 with the purchase of John Scott & Partners Ltd, a well-established firm providing financial advice to 3,000 clients. The company was selected because it had successfully developed a new wealth management services model which combined fee-for-service advice with discretionary asset management capability.

Value creation

  • Built senior management team: from leading financial services institutions, most recently with the appointment of Rob Devey (ex CEO of Prudential UK and Europe) as CEO in 2014

  • Strengthened corporate governance: Appointed a new Chairman, Ron Sandler, in 2014

  • Accelerated M&A strategy: 16 additional acquisitions, including;

    • Reverse take-over of Towry Law in 2006

    • Acquisition of UK operations of Edward Jones in December 2009 with £1.5 billion of AuM

    • Acquisition of Baker Tilly Financial Management in April 2014, with £1.5 billion of client assets

    • Acquistiion of Ashcourt Rowan plc in May 2015, with £2.3 billion in discretionary AuM

Company at exit

As a result of its highly successful M&A and organic growth strategy the Towry group had, under Palamon’s ownership, grown revenues from £5 million to more than £120 million and client assets from £250 million to more than £9 billion.

Result

In 2016 Palamon sold Towry to Tilney Bestinvest for £600 million, generating total investment returns of 12.5x MoC and an IRR of 26%.