Kingswood acquires Marchant McKechnie

(Sharecast News) - Wealth management outfit Kingswood has acquired Marchant McKechnie Independent Financial Advisers for a total maximum consideration of £4m.Kingswood will make an initial cash payment of £1.6m with a deferred sum of up to £2.4m also payable in cash or, at the seller's request, shares in the AIM-listed group, subject to certain revenue metrics being achieved over the next two years.In its last trading year, the East Yorkshire-based Marchant McKechnie generated an EBITDA of £855,000 and a profit after tax of £499,000.Kingswood expects the acquisition to be immediately earnings enhancing to the group.Following the acquisition of Marchant McKechnie, which serves around 700 clients and has about £200m of assets under advice (AUA), Kingswood will have over £200bn AuA and more than 4,000 active clients.Marianne Ismail, Kingswood Wealth's chief executive, said: "Marchant McKechnie is a strong addition to the group as we look to build a new national brand in the UK wealth market. Marchant McKechnie shares our commitment to delivering high levels of customer service to clients over the long-term.""The UK wealth market is excessively fragmented, and we believe that there is a substantial market opportunity to build a national brand for quality, independent wealth planning advice and investment management."As of 1640 BST, Kingswood shares were up 1.54% to 16.50p.