Brachers advises MWA Financial on the acquisition of The Financial Advice Centre

Brachers advises MWA Financial on the acquisition of The Financial Advice Centre

Brachers Corporate team has advised MWA Financial (MWA) on its acquisition of South-West based independent financial advisors The Financial Advice Centre (South West) (FAC).

The acquisition follows on from MWA’s successful acquisitions of Sterling Financial Consultants, Winser Financial Services and Martin Dore Limited earlier in 2023. The acquisition was funded by ThinCats as part of its £15m funding partnership with MWA.

The FAC acquisition is MWA’s first acquisition in the South-West of England as MWA looks to grow its business into a truly nationwide financial services advisory practice. It is a further step in MWA’s ambitious plans to grow its advisor numbers to more than 30 and its assets under management (AUA) to above £1bn over the next year.

MWA was launched by Chief Executive Cam Banks in 2016 to recreate the holistic advice model prevalent in his native Australia. Banks has more than 25 years’ experience developing financial advice networks in Australia for major organisations including ING, AXA Asia Pacific and AMP.

Ed Rosengarten joined the business in 2021 as Executive Chairman to help execute and accelerate its growth strategy. Before joining MWA, Rosengarten was head of funds at Smith & Williamson and, prior to that, spent 20 years at M&G, latterly as Chief Executive of the firm’s equity business.

The Brachers Team was led by Matthew Simmonds (Corporate Partner) and also included Daniel King (Corporate Partner), Alistair Wickham (Corporate Associate), Joseph Burrows (Corporate Solicitor) and Charlotte Berthel (Corporate Paralegal). The team has previously worked with MWA on six other acquisitions and its funding partnership with ThinCats.

Cam Banks of MWA says:

“The acquisition of FAC is another significant milestone for MWA as we look to grow our business nationally. The South-West is a key region in the country. We are so pleased to be able to be able to partner with Andrew Harvey, Ken Cook and the team at FAC to continue to give great service to their clients with the added advantage of tools and scale that being part of the MWA Group can bring.

As ever, I am very grateful to Matt Simmonds and his team at Brachers for their continued support and advice to us. The Brachers Team pulled up trees to get this transaction completed within a tight completion window. They are truly part of the MWA team.”

Matt Simmonds, Corporate Partner at Brachers, says:

“I am so pleased for Cam, Ed and the team at MWA Financial on another successful acquisition. Congratulations also to Andrew, Ken and the team at The Financial Advice Centre on the successful sale of their business.

This move into the South-West is a key move for MWA as it continues to grow. They have found the perfect partners in Andrew, Ken and their team to help them establish and grow the MWA business in Devon and Cornwall.

I am very grateful for the chance to work with Cam, Ed and their team again.”