Hurst Point Group acquires independent wealth management and corporate solutions practice Helm Godfrey

Date: 17 May 2023

Vicente Luckina Bunn

Hurst Point Group is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms for the acquisition of independently owned wealth management and corporate solutions practice Helm Godfrey, one of the most successful and highly regarded firms in the field.

The acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approval. This acquisition will further the Group’s ambition to become a truly national wealth management business, with a presence in major cities across the UK, and has been made possible by the continuing support of Hurst Point’s lead equity investor, the global investment firm Carlyle, and debt providers Ardian and Investec. Carlyle has supported Hurst Point since its inception with capital backing through its financial services investment fund, Carlyle Global Financial Services Partners.

With approximately £1bn of assets under advice and £0.5bn of assets under management, the acquisition of Helm Godfrey will bring Hurst Point’s overall assets under advice to approximately £5bn and its assets under management to approximately £5bn. With approximately £2bn of common AuA/M, this will bring the Group’s net AuA/M to approximately £8bn. The transaction will add approximately 2,500 clients and increases the number of financial advisers across the Group to 120.

Headquartered in London with 65 employees, Helm Godfrey provides specialist financial planning and investment management services. The Company’s investment management team will become part of Hawksmoor, Hurst Point’s Investment Management division, while the financial planning team will become part of Argentis, the Group’s Financial Planning division.

Commenting on the transaction, John White, Managing Director of Hurst Point’s Financial Planning division, said: “With a reputation for excellence built over more than 20 years, we are delighted that the Helm Godfrey business has agreed to join our Group and become our City of London hub. We have worked closely with Graham Cross, Danby Bloch, and their team over the last year in developing this partnership and are very excited about the opportunities that will arise from working together in the future.

“We are working to build a quality, sustainable financial planning business with a strong Group ethos, and have several deals in the pipeline for 2023. We believe that we have found a strong cultural fit in partnering with the Helm Godfrey team; that was a key consideration for us. We were attracted to Helm Godfrey largely by its strong presence in a key centre of wealth, the strong reputation of its advisory business, and its integrated investment management operations.”

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