º£½ÇÊÓƵ

Belfast financial planning business Doherty Pension & Investment Consultancy has been bought by a London-listed peer for over £15 million.

The purchase by Mattioli Woods will see all of Doherty’s 31 staff retained by the new parent company, along with its 1,320 private clients and assets of over £635 million.

It said the acquisition extends and scales the group's existing operations in Northern Ireland, adds investment expertise to its existing discretionary management proposition and brings experienced advisers to its consultancy team.

Payment for the transaction will be made to Doherty’s owners via an initial consideration of £8.78 million followed by deferred consideration of £1.5 million split over the first and second anniversaries of the deal and then £4.8 million paid in cash splits across the two anniversaries subject to certain financial targets being hit.

The business was founded in 1985 and is one of the largest financial planning firms in Northern Ireland.

"We are delighted to be joining the Mattioli Woods Group as the synergy between our companies was obvious from our very first discussion,” Terry Lappin, Managing Director of Doherty's, said. “This can only improve our client offering and we are looking forward with enthusiasm to what can be achieved.”

Mattioli Woods said the move will strengthen its position as the only small self-administered scheme and self-invested personal pension operator in Northern Ireland.

Michael Wright, Group Managing Director of Mattioli Woods, welcomed the deal.

“We are delighted to welcome Terry, Alan, John and their team into the Group,” he said. “Doherty’s share our passion for delivering exceptional client outcomes and going the extra mile.

“There are many complementary elements between our businesses, with both enjoying high levels of technical and specialist pension expertise as well as offering discretionary portfolio management. The addition of the Doherty’s team will add further capacity within the financial planning teams, allowing us to continue developing our product offering, accelerate growth and to continue providing clients with the proactive advice and bespoke investment solutions they require.”

Mattioli Woods was founded 30 years ago from a converted garage in Leicester. It now employs more than 800 people at 11 locations across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, advising over 11,000 clients.