By Scott Wright
A FAST growing wealth management company has made its first acquisition in Scotland – and declared it was open to further deals north of the Border.
Verso Wealth Management has acquired Glasgow-based Campbell Thomson Insurance Services for an undisclosed sum,it was announced yesterday.
The Scottish firm, which was established in 1978, has a 13-strong team of advisors, planners, researchers and support staff, and as of the second quarter of this year was providing advice on assets exceeding £315 million.
Stewart Thomson and Euan Bottomley, owners of the second generation firm, will remain in their current roles with Campbell Thomson further to the deal, and join the Verso executive team as it seeks to expand its presence north of the Border. The value and specifics of the deal were not disclosed.
Mr Thomson said: “We are delighted to be joining Andrew (Fay, Verso chief executive) and the team at Verso as the Verso model overcomes many of the challenges and inefficiencies in our market.
“We will be able to relinquish our day-to-day regulatory and operational hurdles and focus on what we do best – providing our clients with the very best advice available.
“We view our partnership with Verso as a key part of our future growth strategy.”
The deal is the fifth acquisition made by Verso as it seeks to build a national wealth management group, and takes its assets under management to more than £1 billion.
Verso is a portfolio company of Cairngorm Capital Partners, a private equity outfit founded by Scot Andrew Steel with offices in London and Edinburgh.
It was launched in July last year after Cairngorm acquired Munnypot, an online investment service, and Whitefoord, a provider of investment management services and financial advice. The launch of Verso marked Cairngorm’s first move into the financial services and wealthtech sectors.
Mr Fay said: “I am delighted to welcome everybody at Campbell Thomson to the group. It is an exciting time to join Verso as our plans begin to gather pace.
“With the support of our strategic partners, Cairngorm Capital Partners and their buy, build and transformation expertise, we are pursuing an ambitious consolidation plan, to build a market leading wealth management group with capabilities in financial advice and investment management, powered by the Verso platform. Campbell Thomson forms an important part of this.”
The deal comes amid continuing consolidation in the wealth management sector in Scotland, as smaller firms seek to compete in a market in which scale is seen as increasingly important.
AssetCo, the wealth manager chaired by Scottish investment guru Martin Gilbert, has been especially active on the acquisition front in the last 18 months.
Earlier this month AssetCo completed the purchase of Revera Asset Management, at a reduced price, which followed deals for Edinburgh-based firms Saracen Fund Managers and SVM Asset Management. AssetCo also recently acquired River and Mercantile.
Other notable deals have included the takeover by Liontrust of Majedie Asset Management, the firm that manages the venerable Edinburgh Investment Trust in a deal worth up to £120 million in December.
Scottish wealth manager Cornerstone Asset Management, which has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, was acquired by London-based Waverton Investment Management for an undisclosed amount earlier in 2021.
Neil McGill, managing director of Cairngorm who led its team on the Campbell Thomson investment, said: “Campbell Thomson is an excellent company with a well-deserved reputation for outstanding service.
“It demonstrates all that we like in a partner firm – strong performance, differentiated service and an excellent management team.
“We are delighted to be able to support Verso’s continued growth and are excited about further expansion opportunities in the pipeline.”
He added: “We have been looking to expand into Scotland since Verso was set up and this firm is an ideal fit with our group.”
Asked if Verso was targeting further acquisitions in Scotland, Mr McGill said: “We are looking to expand across the UK so we are always interested in talking to good quality firms that are aligned to Verso’s vision and values.
“There are plenty of high-quality Scottish firms in this sector and we would invite any firm that is interested in learning more to contact us.”
Cairngorm’s portfolio includes majority stakes in companies in a range of sectors.
Earlier this month one of its portfolio companies, Sentry Doors, acquired E&SW Knowles & Company, a manufacturer of specialist timber internal doorsets. Knowles employs around 100 people and turned over £10m in 2021.
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