Acquisitive South Coast-based wealth manager Skerritts has acquired £1bn AUM Harrogate advice firm Ellis Bates Financial Advisers for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction, which adds more than £1bn of AUM to Serrits, has received regulatory approval and will complete on 30 September.

It will add to Skerritts’ presence in the North of England as the group looks to accelerate its expansion nationally.

Ellis Bates is led by Chartered Financial Planner Michael Cope, who joined the firm as a director in 2008 and became MD in 2013.

The firm has offices in Harrogate, Newcastle, London, Bristol and Livingston and has a number of Financial Planners and advisers serving clients across the country.

Skerritts is a Chartered Financial Adviser and wealth manager based in Hove which has been busy snapping up rivals since attracting a £55m investment from Sovereign Capital Partners, a UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, in March 2021.

Paul Feeney, chief executive of Skerritts, said: “This acquisition continues our mission of becoming Britain’s premier Chartered Financial Planner. Ellis Bates will bring a strong Northern base to the Skerritts Group, with a highly experienced and talented team, and we are incredibly excited to be working together.”

Michael Cope, managing director of Ellis Bates, said: “We have known the Sovereign and Skerritts teams for some time now and have been impressed with the robust expansion they have achieved through their buy and build strategy. With a 40 year history behind us we are incredibly proud of the business we’ve built but equally ambitious to keep growing and ensure a successful future for our clients and our team.

"In our search for a next-stage growth partner, we have spoken to many other firms, but only Paul has excited us with his vision, ambition and drive to create a national, independent Chartered Financial Planning firm.”

The purchase of Ellis Bates brings the number of deals that the Skerritts Group has completed since the Sovereign investment to 11.  It is also the fifth deal since CEO Paul Feeney, formerly CEO of Quilter, joined the firm as CEO.

In July Skerritts bought £540m AUM London-based Black Swan Financial Planning as well as £400m AUM Surrey Financial Planning firm KMG Independent Limited and its sister firm KMG Investment Management Limited.

Last December Skerritts bought £230m AUM Financial Planning firm Chadwick McLean, which is based in Chester. In September 2023 Skerritts Group acquired Kent-based Chartered Financial Planning firm Ambrose Fisher, adding £62m in AUM to the group.

In March Skerritts acquired Horsham-based Financial Planner Mercier Allen & Associates, adding £73m of AUM. In January 2023 it bought Kent-based Financial Planning firm Equinox Wealth Limited, which added another £62m of AUM. In 2022 Skerritts completed four acquisitions.

Skerritts has about 50 staff serving 35,000 clients.