Private equity firm WestBridge has taken a majority investment for an undisclosed sum in East of England-based Financial Planning firm Beckett Investment Management Group.
The PE firm announced its intention to invest in August.
Beckett was established in 1988 and has offices in Bury St Edmunds, Norwich, Ipswich and Lowestoft. The majority share in the firm was previously owned by the Foresight Group which invested in Beckett in 2021.
With Foresight’s support, Beckett grew from £0.8bn to £2.1bn AUM and expanded client numbers to more than 5,000. Foresight said it will partially reinvest in the firm to continue its support of Beckett’s next phase of growth.
Beckett is a financial advice firm which offers a range of services including investment planning, retirement strategies, wealth management and employee benefits solutions. It is led by CEO Gavin Wood, alongside executive chair Ian White, who will continue to support the team as non-executive chair following completion.
Peter Barkley and Luke Gilbert from WestBridge will join the Beckett board as directors and Madeleine Finn will become a board observer and co-ordinate value creation initiatives.
In June Beckett bought fellow East Anglian advice firm Norfolk & Suffolk Financial Services for an undisclosed sum. Chartered Financial Planning firm Norfolk & Suffolk Financial Services was founded in 1974 in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
The acquisition is the latest for Becketts, which has previously purchased Financial Planning firms with principals retiring. In December it acquired Ely-based Chartered Financial Planning firm Absolute Sense, adding £135m in assets under advice on behalf of 350 clients upon the retirement of founder Peter Waggitt.
It also acquired Ipswich-based Swallow Financial Planning, also a Chartered Financial Planning firm, adding around £90m in assets when founder Andrew Swallow was looking to retire.
Becketts was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, with additional offices in Norwich and Ipswich, serving over 4,150 private clients and employee services clients.
Managing director Charted Financial Planner and PFS Fellow Gavin Wood has been with the firm for over 10 years, being promoted to his current role in 2025.