Söderberg & Partners raises £225m for further expansion
Fast-growing wealth manager and Financial Planner Söderberg & Partners' has raised an additional €265m (£225m) funding from minority owners KKR and TA through a new share issue.
Following the issue, Söderberg will continue to be controlled by its founders and chairman of the board and supported by KKR and TA.
The new capital will be used to support Söderberg’s continued expansion, with a particular focus on the UK and Spain.
Söderberg, one of Sweden’s biggest wealth managers, has invested in a growing number of UK advice businesses in the past two years, typically taking sizeable minority stakes.
In May it invested in four UK IFA firms to bring the total of UK firms invested in by the firm to 11.
Also in May it took a significant minority stake in IFA consolidator Cardan.
Gustaf Rentzhog, chief executive and co-founder of Söderberg & Partners said: “We see that our venture in the UK is working, and we now want to scale it up even faster.
“We see many opportunities and have high ambitions to become one of the leading players in the UK within a few years.
“Our focus area right now is to create significantly more efficient administration in our companies by applying the technology used within our organization, which we know works."
Hans Arstad, managing director at KKR and responsible for the company's European private equity operations in the Nordic region, said: “Söderberg & Partners has continued to successfully expand its platform across Europe, further developing its product portfolio and enhancing its proven capabilities. We look forward to continuing our work with them over the years to come.”
Chris Parkin, managing director and co-head of business Sservices at TA, said: “TA initially invested in Söderberg & Partners ten years ago when it was a Swedish-only business. Since then, Gustaf and team have rolled out their unique model not only in the Nordics, but also across the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. We look forward to supporting its next chapter of international expansion.”
• Financial Planning Today Snap Analysis: This latest round of fund raising suggests Söderberg & Partners is planning significant further expansion in the UK. However its acquisition strategy sets it apart from other acquisitive Financial Planning firms. It continues to focus on buying significant stakes in Financial Planning firms but generally avoiding a full takeover. This makes its money go further and positions it for potential full acquisition later on should it wish to do so. Sooner or later it is likely it will convert some of these stakes into full ownership. These 'investment' stakes are a departure from the usual Financial Planning model in the UK which favours full acquisition. Only time will tell if Söderberg & Partners has made the right decision.