Tavistock Investments PLC (AIM:TAVI) agreed to purchase 21% of the issued share capital of LEBC Holdings Limited, an independent financial advisory group.
The financial services firm will pay £10mln for the stake to Marie McVitie, the widow of LEBC’s founder and former chief executive, with £6mln of that being paid upfront and £4mln a year after the deal completes.
The LEBC group was established in 2000 as a provider of financial planning and consultancy services to private and corporate clients. LEBC employs 46 financial planners, has more than 75,000 clients and an estimated £5 billion of assets under advice, of which over £500 million is invested in LEBC's model portfolio service.
LEBC's draft accounts for the financial year ended 30 September 2021 show that it achieved gross revenues of about £15.0mln and generated underlying earnings (EBITDA) of some £3.3mln. On 30 September 2021, LEBC had gross assets of £9.6mln and net assets of £5.6mln.
LEBC's largest shareholder is the AIM-quoted company, BP Marsh & Partners (AIM:BPM) PLC, which owns 60% of LEBC's voting rights. Brian Marsh, the chairman of BP Marsh, welcomed Tavistock as an investment partner.
Brian Raven, Tavistock’s chief executive, said Tavistock looked forward to working with Marsh and the management team of LEBC.
“The initial focus will be on accelerating LEBC's commercial development and operational efficiency, as well as enhancing its oversight and compliance regime through the introduction of Tavistock's proprietary risk-based processes and procedures,” Raven said.