Financial advice consolidator AFH has bought a York-based advice business in a £4.5m deal.
The deal to buy Premier Wealth Management Harrogate will see more than £90m of funds under management move to AFH.
Managing director Richard Evans and technical director Andrew Huby will both join AFH, along with their support staff, to extend the company's operations in the north east.
Alan Hudson, AFH's chief executive, said: "The acquisition of Premier is the first transaction of our new financial year and, following the acquisition of Thomas Heald in August, continues the expansion of AFH in the north east.
"Premier has demonstrated high levels of profitable growth and I am pleased to welcome Richard and his team to AFH. I look forward to working with them for the benefit of our new clients and to increase shareholder value."
As part of the deal AFH will pay £2m upfront from its cash resources, with the remaining £2.5m paid over the next 26 months depending on performance criteria being met.
Mr Evans said: "For a while it’s been clear that to take the business to the next stage we needed to become part of a larger organisation.
"Frankly with the likes of Mifid and PI costs it’s becoming impossible to deliver the proposition we want for our clients at a cost that’s competitive. With AFH we’re going to be able to drive costs down for our clients while delivering a great investment proposition."
This was the first transaction in AFH's new financial year. Since mid-August the consolidator has bought six advice firms plus the client book of the Colwyn Bay office of Beaufort Securities, including its largest deal to date with its agreement to buy Core Financial Holdings for £7.7m.
It comes after AFH raised £15m to carry on buying adviser businesses by issuing new shares last month.
damian.fantato@ft.com
