MWA Financial, an Independent Financial Advisor consolidation platform, has secured a significant growth capital investment from Coniston to fund their acquisition strategy. This investment is the fifth from Coniston Capital I LP which had its final close in March 2022.
MWA was founded in 2016 by CEO Cam Banks and acquires UK IFA businesses which provide their clients with independent, holistic financial advice. The business is chaired by Ed Rosengarten with Banks leading the management team.
To date, MWA has acquired five IFA businesses, primarily based in London and the South East, and has combined total Assets Under Advice of around £450m. The most recent acquisition of Cornwall-based Financial Advice Centre, the fifth in only two years, extends MWA’s coverage across the south of England.
Alongside a ThinCats facility raised in March this year, Coniston’s funding will increase MWA’s acquisition power, with three further acquisitions anticipated in the next twelve months, and will support MWA’s plan to become a national player in the IFA market.
Ben Kirby, who led the transaction for Coniston and will join the board of MWA, said: “Coniston is delighted to be backing MWA, an exciting and ambitious company with a proven acquisition track record in a growing sector. We believe that they are well positioned to build on their success to date to become a major player in the IFA market.”
Cam Banks added: “We are looking forward to partnering with Coniston for the next stage of our growth journey. Their funding and expertise will boost our operations and support our acquisition plans to grow MWA into a business with coverage across the UK.”
Coniston was advised on the transaction by Stephenson Harwood (Richard Coleman, Lydia Zakrzewski, William Robertson), HW Fisher (Carolyn Hazard, Nishil Shah), CRC (Phil Reilly, Emma Hillary, Liam Glynn) and Mazars (Caroline Gill).
MWA was advised by Brachers (Matthew Simmonds, Daniel King).
