Brighton and Hove-based wealth manager Skerritts Group has acquired £62m AUM Kent Financial Planner Equinox Wealth.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, adds to Skerrits four acquisitions in 2022.

Skerritts said the acquisition of Equinox would help extend its presence in Kent and boost its plans to reach more of the South Coast.

Skerrits acquisition strategy is funded by £55m in investment from private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners. 

Skerritts Group, which includes a Chartered Financial Planning firm and a Discretionary Investment Manager, had previously made nine acquisitions prior to Sovereign’s involvement but is using Sovereign’s investment to speed up its acquisition drive.

Skerritts has a head office in Hove and about 50 staff serving 35,000 clients.

The purchase of Equinox Wealth Limited brings in an additional £62 million of AUM and brings boosts the number of deals that the Skerritts has completed since the Sovereign investment to five. 

In 2022, Skerritts acquired Geoffrey Craig Limited, Saffron Wealth Management, Chartered IFA Firm Bradbury Hamilton and Hampshire-based PS Financial Advisers Limited. The four firms have added approximately £560m of AUM.

Richard Skerritt, CEO of Skerritts, said: “As part of our strategic plans to increase our presence in the South East, adding a high-quality firm such as Equinox Wealth to the group enables us to increase our presence in Kent and adds Conrad and Jen to our great team of people. We very much look forward to working with them.”

Conrad Whittingham, director of Equinox Wealth, said: “After 15 years growing a successful business and looking to plan for the next 15 years, we have made the decision that we need to be part of a larger group, with the extra resources and benefits to clients that this can bring.

“Skerritts has shone through as the perfect like-minded partner for us and will help us to invest in and grow the business going forward, enabling us to offer our clients an even higher level and breadth of service. This is a very exciting time for us and our clients too.”