Beckett Investment Management Group secures majority investment from WestBridge

Transaktion

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Rolle

Adviser to Beckett Investment Management on its majority investment from WestBridge

Sektor

Financial Services

Område

Storbritannien

We advised Beckett Investment Management Group (Beckett), the leading financial planning business in the East of England, on its majority investment from WestBridge. The deal, which is the fifth investment from WestBridge III, is subject to regulatory approval by the FCA. Our combined team provided M&A and Modelling & Data Analytics support on this transaction.

Beckett is a financial advice firm which offers a range of services across investment planning, retirement strategies, wealth management and employee benefits solutions. The company was established in 1988 and has grown consistently over this period, now with four offices in each of Bury St Edmunds, Norwich, Ipswich and Lowestoft.

The transaction involves a majority exit for Foresight Group, which will partially reinvest to continue its support through Beckett’s next phase of growth. Foresight invested in Beckett in 2021 from the Foresight East of England Fund, which will realise a return of more than 5.0x and an IRR of over 40% from this transaction. With Foresight’s support, Beckett has grown from €0.94bn (£0.8bn) to €2.45bn (£2.1bn) assets under management (AUM) and cemented its leading reputation in the East of England region. The company has become a B Corp and grown the number of clients supported to over 5,000, all whilst retaining the culture and customer service that drives the business.

More about the process

Our combined team undertook a thorough preparation phase to showcase Beckett's leading platform qualities and support a rapid, controlled execution process, including the development of a model and data cube, leveraging Beckett's strong existing data analytics capabilities. Comprehensive commercial, financial and regulatory due diligence materials were also prepared to support the medium-term organic and M&A growth opportunity.

A dual-track process explored both strategic and financial investor options, enabling shareholders to optimise value while allowing management to assess cultural fit, strategic alignment and future growth plans with potential partners.

Strong interest in the business supported a rapid execution phase, reducing management distraction throughout the process.

Thank you to the Clearwater team for the hard work, support and guidance provided throughout this process. Their expertise, commitment and attention to detail were instrumental in helping us achieve an exceptional outcome. The team worked tirelessly from start to finish, delivering high-quality advice at every stage while maintaining a collaborative and pragmatic approach. It has been a genuine pleasure working with Clearwater and a real credit to the entire team.
Matthew McLoughlin, Partner, Foresight Group

The Clearwater team built us a great model for potential bidders to really understand the financial mechanics of our business and have left us with a great tool to measure future performance against. The team were always available; responsive to our requests; offered highly technical advice; and, have been assisting us in further evolving the reporting capabilities. We now have a head start in our Financial MI for the next stage of our growth.
Mike White, Finance Director, Beckett

The Beckett team has had a great time working in partnership with Foresight over the last five years. Over that period, we have been joined by top quality financial planners and support staff who share our team-based focus and the culture that we have worked hard to foster, as well as business owners who want to retire and see us as the ideal trusted partner for their clients. We want to build upon this success and continue to attract the best local talent to help us deliver the best possible service to our clients.

Given the positive experiences of working with Matt McCloughlin at Foresight, it was vital for us to find another partner who would be supportive, challenging when needed, but allow us to build the Beckett brand in our style without looking to change our DNA. We believe we have found that with WestBridge, who at all turns have been open and honest, with an air of authenticity which shone through. I am incredibly excited about the opportunities that we will have with WestBridge in the next phase of our team’s development.
Gavin Wood, CEO, Beckett

Beckett epitomises the type of business WestBridge looks to back. Its growth to this point has been characterised by culture-led and organic-first initiatives, which will continue to be the fundamental pillars of its expansion plan. This approach has in turn enabled Beckett’s eight successful add-on acquisitions since 2020.

There is significant organic momentum in the business, strong data capabilities, a leading culture and proven M&A track record – exceptional foundations for our partnership. We look forward to supporting acceleration of both Beckett’s organic and acquisitive growth plans.
Luke Gilbert, Senior Investment Manager, WestBridge

This transaction brings together a high-quality financial planning business and an experienced growth investor, creating a strong platform for future expansion. We are delighted to have supported the shareholders on this important milestone and wish the team every success in the next chapter of their growth journey.
Greg Cant, Managing Director and Head of Financial Services, Clearwater