Member Article

Skipton Building Society sells wealth management arm

Skipton Building Society has agreed to sell its wealth management arm, Torquil Clark Holdings Limited to Bellpenny, the wealth manager and IFA acquirer.

This follows a string of high profile disposals by the company, including its mortgage services,Homeloan Management Ltd, for £47.5 million to Bristol-based Computershare Ltd, and well as their health insurance arm PHP for an undisclosed sum.

The building society also reported a strong performance in its interim management statement.

Bellpenny has purchased the company for an undisclosed sum, with the full support of Torquil Clark’s management team. Completion is conditional upon regulatory approval.

This follows a period of six years in which Skipton established and grew Torquil Clark to become a leader in the provision of financial advice to high net worth clients.

Based in Wolverhampton and Carnforth, Torquil Clark brings a total of £900 million of client assets - taking Bellpenny’s funds under management to over £2.5 billion. It is Bellpenny’s biggest acquisition to date and its 21st since it began in October 2012.

The deal incorporates Torquil Clark’s wealth management and employee benefits businesses. It also includes Torquil Clark’s execution-only business TQ Invest, which accounts for more than £500 million of the funds under management. The new combined client base and capability means exciting future opportunities for the enlarged Bellpenny.

Employees of Torquil Clark, which include 16 financial planners and more than 50 support staff, will join Bellpenny. The local presence will be retained, under the Bellpenny brand, and will become the company’s Midlands hub, providing a base for further expansion in the region.

John Chapman, Torquil Clark’s managing director, will join Bellpenny to head up the rebranded direct business. He will also join Bellpenny’s Executive Team.

Bellpenny chief executive officer, Kevin Ronaldson, said: “Torquil Clark has become a true heavyweight of the UK financial planning scene over the last 25 years. It is a reflection of how far Bellpenny has come that we’re already in a position to be making acquisitions on this scale.

“This acquisition will be especially important for us because it incorporates a substantial, execution- only business in the form of TQ Invest.

“Having a direct operation alongside comprehensive wealth management and employee benefits offerings will vastly extend Bellpenny’s market reach and appeal, by enabling us to deal with clients in whatever way best suits their personal needs.

“Crucially, it will also mean we’re ideally positioned to meet the expectations of the next generation of investors for whom the ability to transact when, where and how they wish is viewed as a given.”

Skipton group chief executive David Cutter said: “We are pleased with the way we have been able to develop Torquil Clark since it has been part of the Skipton Group, in collaboration with its management team.

“However, under Bellpenny’s new ownership, there are many potential new opportunities for the business to realise and we very much look forward to seeing it flourish in the years to come.”

Grenville Turner, chairman of Bellpenny, said: “It is hugely rewarding to see our ambitious long-term plans for the business coming to fruition. This acquisition will be another significant milestone for Bellpenny in its journey to become the UK’s most trusted financial advice brand.”

The UK’s fourth largest building society, Skipton is at the centre of a unique group of subsidiary companies and has a strong track record as a creator, acquirer and disposer of successful businesses.

This transaction is the latest example of the scope and potential of the diversified Skipton Group model, and the considerable value embedded in the Society’s range of subsidiary businesses.

Skipton was advised by Hines Associates Ltd.

Photo: © Copyright Betty Longbottom and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .