Kingswood H. Regulatory News (KWG)

17 January 2019

KINGSWOOD HOLDINGS LIMITED

("Kingswood" or the "Group")

Board Change and Business Update

Kingswood Holdings Limited (AIM: KWG), the integrated wealth management group, today announces that Group CEO Marianne Ismail, will leave the Group with immediate effect to pursue other interests. Executive Deputy Chairman, Gary Wilder will assume the Group CEO role.

Executive Management Update

Group Finance Director, Patrick Goulding will also assume the role of CEO of Kingswood's operating subsidiaries. He will be responsible for implementing and managing the Board's strategy and performance to ensure financial and other targets are met. Patrick will work closely with the leaders of the business across the Group to achieve this.

It is intended that Graydon Butler, Group Chief Operating Officer, will join the Board in the coming weeks and an announcement will be made in due course. Graydon will work closely with Patrick to ensure Kingswood has in place best-in-class operating infrastructure, support functions and resources to deliver the Group's strategy.

Strategy

The Board has a clear strategy to enhance shareholder value and recently approved an ambitious three-year growth plan for the Group. Macro market conditions combined with an ageing population provide Kingswood with a significant opportunity to become a leading player in the wealth management market.

The Board believes a combination of capital investment and resource allocation across its integrated wealth planning and investment management platforms, together with rigorous, credible target setting and performance evaluation, will drive future success. These integrated platforms give Kingswood a competitive advantage, and its strategy is firmly focused on seeking opportunities to drive growth in revenue and assets under management from these platforms. Kingswood aims to provide existing and future clients with a high quality and personalised experience with a complete service and product range to protect and grow their wealth.

The Group is continuing to pursue growth opportunities with targeted acquisitions in the UK, with the ultimate goal of creating a global business through strategic partnerships and its ambition is to gain a foothold in the US market in the near future. Further details on the growth strategy and targets will be outlined in the next trading update, expected in February 2019.

People

Kingswood's people are fundamental to its future success, and the Board is committed to creating a partnership culture with compensation aligned to business and personal performance. A meeting of Kingswood's partnership group was recently convened, and these senior business leaders will have a significant portion of their compensation aligned with both individual performance targets, alongside the enhancement of the Group's profit and share price.

Key initiatives

In the short term, Kingswood is focused on several critical products. These include the development of its Management Portfolio Service (MPS) and Personalised Portfolio Service (PPS), the implementation of a new, simplified tariff structure, and the launch of several new product offerings.

Buzz West, Chairman of Kingswood, commented: "The Board is very grateful to Marianne for her contribution to the business over the last 18 months. We wish her well in her future endeavours.

"We are delighted that Gary, Patrick and Graydon have agreed to form the senior leadership team that will successfully execute our growth strategy. Their combined experience will be invaluable as we aim to grow both organically and dynamically by acquisition in the UK and US and deliver long-term shareholder value."

The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

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