Sanlam acquires 60% stake in Buckles

South African financial services firm Sanlam has extended its reach in the UK with the acquisition of a 60% stake in Nigel Speirs' Buckles Holdings.

Nigel Speirs, chief executive of Buckles, a Rhyl-based adviser, said the deal would boost the firm’s acquisition strategy and enable it to roll out its graduate training and development programme throughout the country.

‘The investment will enable us to continue our programme of acquiring the businesses of IFAs who wish to retire, with the assurance that their clients will continue to be well looked after,’ said Speirs. ‘Over the last five years we have acquired some dozen client banks in Wales and the North West and we have identified many more.’

The deal adds to Sanlam’s growing interests in the UK including a discretionary fund manager, a platform operator and a life and pensions business.

‘We believe the aggregation of IFAs in the UK market provides a significant opportunity to build on our initiatives aimed at establishing a substantial and leading advisory and wealth management business in the UK,’ said Sanlam Group chief executive Johan van Zyl. ‘Buckles meets all the criteria as a top quality intermediary business we were seeking for this purpose.’

Sanlam has already acquired an 18% stake in Bath-based discretionary fund manager Principal Investment, owns 100% of life and pensions provider Merchant investors, has a 41% stake in Nucleus, the advisory wrap platform operator and is the third largest shareholder in Intrinsic Financial Services, the multi-tied adviser founded by former Zurich UK head Lord Leitch.

In addition, it is a leading shareholder in benefits consultant Punter Southall, providing the firm with a link to Bill Mott’s investment boutique PSigma and Hitchens the stockbroker.