Kingswood has acquired Glasgow-based Strategic Asset Managers (SAM) in a £5.1m deal.  SAM becomes the first Scottish firm in the consolidator’s network. 

SAM, a financial advice firm formed in 2001, works with families, businesses and professional partners across the central Scotland and Perthshire areas.

It has three advisers and eight employees, managing over 400 clients and about £200m of assets under management. 

Kingswood will pay £3.1m up front for the business, with the balance to be paid on the condition certain performance targets are met. Its CEO David Lawrence said the purchase was an “opportunity to build our relationships across Scotland”.

According to Kingswood, in the year ending March 2022 SAM generated profit before tax of £517,000 on revenue of £1.2 million.

SAM chief executive Derek Stewart said: “We operate in a very similar way and believe this will benefit our clients and present greater development opportunities for our staff. We’re proud to be the first Scottish firm to become part of the Kingswood Group.”

The purchase follows Kingswood’s £8.5m double swoop on Buckinghamshire-based EBS and Lincolnshire firm JCH last month, which lift the firm’s assets under management above £10 billion. 

Kingswood said it has four more potential buys “under exclusive due diligence”.