International advice firm Hoxton Wealth has expanded into Asia with the acquisition of Infinity Financial Solutions.
The acquisition, which is Hoxton’s first in the region and its largest to date, will add $300m (£225m) in assets under management (AUM) to its rapidly-growing portfolio.
The deal takes its total AUM to $3.3bn (£2.5bn).
Infinity, which was founded in 2004, is a leading provider of expat financial services with multiple offices across Asia.
Hoxton Wealth CEO Chris Ball said: “So far, our acquisition strategy has focused on the UK domestic market, with the objective of growing our footprint and supporting existing business in the country.
“A lot of our clients are UK expats, so a strong presence in the UK builds confidence among those with ties to the country.
“Branching out across Asia is a huge step for us.
“We are very excited to begin connecting with new clients and partners in a region where we did not previously have a huge presence, but which has an undoubtable opportunity for significant growth.”
Ball told Money Marketing that it was “fantastic” to dot the I’s and cross the T’s after two years of discussions.
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in, start working with them and grow the great team that’s there.
“It’s a brilliant business that adds to the global coverage that we’re able to provide our clients and increase the product offering, which is very exciting.”
Ball admitted the deal had taken a while to go through, but added that “nothing great was built in a day”.
He said nothing would change initially and that the first step would be to ensure Infinity was properly integrated within Hoxton.
“We’ll get our teams in there and integrate our back office systems.
“It’s about integrating them into us, but also integrating us into them. It’s a two-way street.
“Then I imagine later this year, maybe early next, we’ll look to roll out the Hoxton Wealth name across the whole business.”
However, he insisted that Hoxton was “not trying to lose the Infinity way of doing things”.
“They’ve built up a great business over the past 20 years, so we aren’t going in and saying ‘this is how we’re doing it going forward’.”
Ball said Singapore is among the top targets now and that there are “a couple of businesses that we’re looking at there and speaking with.”
He also added that Hoxton would love to start acquiring businesses is the US, describing it as a “golden market.”
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Trevor Keidan, managing director of Infinity Financial Solutions, added: “We are delighted to have agreed the acquisition of the company by Hoxton Wealth.
“We believe this will further strengthen our presence in the Asia region, ultimately providing significant enhancements to our offering and providing clients with additional services from the experienced in-house team at Hoxton Wealth.
“Hoxton Wealth has invested significantly in technology enabling it to provide traditional financial planning powered by cutting-edge technology and we are very excited to launch these services to Infinity clients.”
Hoxton Wealth’s revenue director Oliver Gorman said: “Infinity has built an exceptional business, that’s a credit to its leadership – and entire team.
“The decision by the partners to sell to Hoxton wasn’t just a strategic one, it was about ensuring their clients and staff are part of something with real long-term vision.
“This is about more than expansion, it’s about alignment.
“Hoxton Wealth is home to a truly international advisory team, with advisors from the UK, France, China, Japan, and beyond.
“With this acquisition, we’re strengthening our presence in key Asian markets and continuing our mission to deliver world class, fully regulated financial planning no matter where our clients are in the world.”
Hoxton’s client base currently stands at 7,000, with over 300 staff working at offices in the UAE, UK, USA, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Cyprus.
In January, Hoxton added £85m AUM with its fifth acquisition in the UK when it snapped up Darlington-based Family First Financial Services.
