Aviva will acquire Succession Wealth for a consideration of £385 million.
Aviva says that the deal will enable it to provide high-quality advice to its approximately 4 million workplace pension customers. Aviva also says that the deal will allow it to keep more of the £6bn in pension and historical assets that leave the company each year to be invested with competitors.
Succession Wealth is an independent financial advisory firm with over 200 planners advising on £9.5bn in assets and providing advice to around 19,000 clients across the UK.
The deal is supported with funds from Aviva and it is expected to generate a double-digit return on invested capital over the medium term.
Aviva group chief executive officer Amanda Blanc says: “The acquisition of Succession Wealth boosts Aviva’s presence in the fast-growing UK wealth market; supports our strategy to grow sustainably, and expands Aviva’s ability to offer high-quality financial advice to millions of our customers.”
Aviva UK and Ireland Life chief executive officer Doug Brown says: “We are excited to partner with the management team at Succession Wealth. They have built a great business over the years, and I am confident that Aviva’s scale, resources, capabilities and shared vision will enable Succession Wealth to further expand its leading client and planner proposition in the UK’s attractive wealth market. This acquisition will broaden our advice offering and will help our existing customers currently without an adviser to better secure their financial future.”
Succession Wealth group CEO James Stevenson says: “We are delighted to become part of Aviva and to offer our independent financial planning capability to Aviva customers who don’t have an adviser. The demand for financial advice across the entire wealth spectrum has never been greater, and the opportunity to combine Succession Wealth’s holistic financial planning expertise, with the capabilities and customer reach of Aviva is hugely exciting. The Succession Wealth brand and our core independent advice proposition is fundamental in providing ongoing stability and reassurance to our existing clients and our people as we embark on this new journey as part of Aviva.”
According to Aviva’s full-year 2021 report, its savings & retirement business grew by 33 per cent driven by strong performance in both Workplace and Platform.
The results show that new scheme wins and member growth also contributed to Workplace growth. This growth resulted in the most successful tax year-end across Savings & Retirement, according to Aviva.
Profits in the protection and health division increased by 21 per cent year on year.
The group’s protection and health division had an operational profit of £229 million in 2021, up from £189 million in 2020, thanks to better new business profitability and cost efficiency, according to the company’s results issued this morning.
Blanc says: “2021 was a year of significant strategic progress, right across Aviva. We successfully completed the sale of eight non-core businesses, generating excellent value for our shareholders. Our financial position is strengthened and Aviva is now a much simpler, leaner business, focused on our core markets in the UK, Ireland and Canada.”
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