Proposed acquisition of MJFCA SIPP & SSAS business

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

XPS Pensions Group plc

("XPS" or the "Group")

Proposed acquisition of Michael J Field Consulting Actuaries SIPP & SSAS business

XPS Pensions Group plc, the pensions actuarial, consulting and administration business, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire the business and certain assets of Michael J Field Consulting Actuaries ("MJFCA"), a SIPP and SSAS provider (the "Acquisition").

The total consideration for the Acquisition is up to £3.75 million, comprising of up to £2.25 million upon completion and contingent consideration of up to £1.5 million. The Acquisition is being funded from cash resources held by the Group.

The transaction is expected to complete in February 2022. Prior to completion, MJFCA will complete the transfer of key supplier contracts, conclude on employee consultations, and notify the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in connection with the transaction.

The Acquisition constitutes a Class 2 transaction for the purposes of the FCA's Listing Rules. 

Details of the Acquisition

MJFCA is a long-established and highly regarded SIPP and SSAS provider based in Manchester. Their specialist level of expertise complements XPS's existing capabilities and will enable XPS to expand the reach of its offering of high-quality, tailored, great value SIPPs and SSASs to a wider base of clients and financial advisers.

The business being acquired includes all staff and contracts.

XPS is acquiring the business and certain assets of MJFCA and as such there are no audited accounts available for the business being acquired. Based on the financial information ascertained during the due diligence process, the gross assets attributable to the Acquisition were £0.1 million, revenue in the 12 months to 31 March 2021 was £1.9 million and associated EBITDA was £0.4 million.

Rationale for the Acquisition

MJFCA operates at the same, high-services, end of the SSAS / SIPP market as XPS Pensions Group. It is geographically strong in the north of England (in particular Manchester). The profile of its clients is very similar to XPS Pensions Group's existing Self Invested Pensions business, with a strong focus on commercial property and true self investment. Its staff are experienced and technically knowledgeable, and this presents a two-way opportunity for support and synergy with the existing business. It is a valuable acquisition of a profitable and cash generative business, building our Self Invested Pensions business to deliver further scale economies and benefits for clients. The Acquisition is expected to contribute approximately £1.9 million of revenues per annum to the Group.

Paul Cuff, XPS Pensions Group Co-CEO, said: "We're hugely excited to welcome the fantastic team from Michael J Field to join our growing business. Their expertise complements our strong and growing Self Invested Pensions business and will enable us to bring our offering of high-quality, tailored, great value SSASs and SIPPs to even more clients and financial advisers."

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For further information, contact:

The person responsible for making this announcement is Zoe Adlam (Company Secretary).

Notes to Editors

XPS Pensions Group (XPS) is the largest pure pensions consultancy in the UK, specialising in actuarial, covenant, investment consulting and administration. XPS combines expertise, insight and technology to address the needs of over 1,500 pension schemes and their sponsoring employers on an ongoing and project basis. We undertake pensions administration for over 948,000 members and provides advisory services to schemes of all sizes including 47 with over £1bn of assets. We also provide pension advisory and administration services to over 200 defined contribution schemes, with over one million members and combined assets in excess of £15bn.

XPS Pensions Group was awarded Actuarial/Pensions Consultancy of the Year and Investment Consultancy of the Year at the 2021 Professional Pensions Awards and highly commended for Third Party Administrator of the Year and Education /Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year. In 2020, XPS was awarded Third Party Administrator of the Year at the UK Pension Awards for the second year running and has also been ranked the No.1 Third Party Administrator in the Professional Pensions Administration Survey in four of the past six years. Also in 2020, XPS Pensions Group was awarded the FT's PIPA Technology Services of the Year Award and in 2019 awarded Actuarial/Pensions Consultancy of the Year at the UK Pensions Awards.

XPS Pensions Group has also been ranked Gold in the Employee Engagement category and Silver in the Employee-Centric Company category at the 2020 UK Employee Experience Awards. XPS Pensions Group also won two awards at the 2020 Business Culture Awards winning Best Business Culture Transformation Initiative and the overall Gold Award winner for Business Culture.

www.xpsgroup.com