Chartered financial planner Beckett Investment Management is on the acquisition trail after it received backing from a private equity firm.
The chartered firm, which is chaired by former Lighthouse CEO Malcolm Streatfield, will use the funds to perform a management buyout which will see Bob Beckett retire and managing director Ian White take the helm.
The investment came from listed PE firm Foresight and its Foresight East of England Fund, which targets investments in ‘established, profitable small and medium sized enterprises in the East of England.
Becketts, which is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, manages £775m of assets across a mix of investment portfolios and offers advice to 2,900 clients.
Streatfield was appointed chairman of the firm on April 1, 2021, having previously served as a member of the FCA’s practitioners panel and CEO of the Lighthouse Group.
Ian White, managing director of Becketts, said: “Foresight’s investment will support the next phase of development and growth for our firm.
"We are a purpose-led organisation that is passionate about playing a valued role in the community that we serve, promoting financial and emotional health and wellbeing to our clients and to wider society.”
In January this year Foresight Group, which currently has £6.8bn assets under management, announced it was to float on the London Stock Exchange offering 50 per cent of its share capital to investors.
The company said the IPO would provide additional source of capital for acquisitions, such as Becketts, and allow all employees to own shares in Foresight.
Matt McLoughlin, senior investment manager at Foresight, said: “Becketts has a well-deserved leading reputation in Suffolk and the wider region as a differentiated and trusted advisor to both private clients and companies, with a strong set of values.
“Bob, Ian and the team have built a successful business that demonstrates outstanding engagement with the people in its teams and in the communities it serves.
"The company is well-positioned for continuing growth and we look forward to working together in the coming years.”
Ruth Gillbe is a freelance reporter for FTAdviser
