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Founder Bryan Moloney to make about €16.5m from the deal
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Moloney Investments founder Bryan Moloney
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John Mulligan Twitter Email
A majority stake in Dublin-based wealth manager Moloney Investments is being sold to a UK firm for almost €26m.
Founder Bryan Moloney will pocket about €16.5m from the deal.
Moloney Investments advises clients in relation to €700m of assets and employs more than 50 people.
Kingswood, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, said it is buying a 70pc stake in the Irish firm, with management including Bryan Moloney retaining 30pc. The senior management team at Moloney Investments will remain in place and continue to operate from its existing premises in the capital.
The consideration will be paid for by Kingswood using a new debt facility it expects to have in place before the acquisition is finalised.
Moloney Investments was founded in 1993 and provides financial planning, general and protection insurance, as well as investments, pensions and mortgage advice to mass affluent and high-net-worth individuals.
On a pro-forma basis, for the 12 months to the end of April this year, the Irish firm generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €4m.
There are a number of subsidiary companies, including MMPI, under the main holding firm.
Kingswood has about £9bn (€10bn) of assets under advice and management. It serves 19,000 clients from offices in the UK, the US and South Africa.
David Lawrence, the chief executive of Kingswood, said the acquisition of Moloney Investments is a “highly strategic” investment for the group.
“MMPI provides access to the attractive Irish wealth management market whilst also offering multiple new avenues for growth,” he said.
“Bryan Moloney and his senior team have done an exceptional job building MMPI into a successful, scaled, and differentiated advisory group,” he added.
Kingswood said that Ireland represents a €40bn wealth management market that shares many similar market and cultural similarities to the UK, “with the mass affluent segment of the market in particular experiencing persistent growth”.
It added that the Irish wealth management market is experiencing many similar trends to the UK and its Irish acquisition offers an attractive platform for further consolidation in addition to Kingswood’s own strategy in the UK.
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Mr Lawrence said that Kingswood has a strong pipeline of potential acquisition activity, with an additional eight targets currently undergoing exclusive due diligence.
In the first half of its financial year, Kingswood’s total revenue rose 31pc to £80.4m, lifted by acquisitions as well as organic growth. Its wealth planning revenue rose 55pc to £13m in the period.
Research group Global Financial Data recently noted that while 2021 was a standout year for the world’s biggest wealth managers, 2022 has posed significant challenges.
It said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coupled with soaring inflation and resulting interest rate hikes, have all had an impact on the wealth management market. It added that the world’s 15 largest wealth managers that report half-yearly figures and which between them managed $13.5trn in client assets at the end of 2021, have seen those assets decline by 9pc since then.
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