Burges Salmon has assisted Embark Group Ltd on its latest acquisition.
Embark has exchanged contracts to acquire 100% of the share capital of EBS Management PLC (including wholly owned subsidiaries Alpha Trustees Limited, EBS Pensioneer Trustees Limited, and EBS Self-Administered Personal Pension Plan Trustees Limited) from Charles Stanley PLC. The acquisition has been approved by the UK Takeover Panel but remains conditional on, among other things, final FCA approval.
The transaction will see Embark Group’s underlying consumer client base grow to over 100,000, representing £10.8 billion of assets, across its SIPP, SSAS, ISA, GIA, financial planning and corporate business activities. The acquisition will see the business employ over 500 people in the UK, making it one of the few long-term players in the UK retirement space able to offer a full range of capabilities that fit all levels of client affluence and all distribution channels.
EBS represents one of very few remaining ‘scale’ transactions in the fast consolidating SIPP and SSAS sector of UK financial services, and underlines Embark's stated strategy of integrating only scaled administration businesses, or businesses providing product capabilities that are clearly additive to its core retirement offering.
The Burges Salmon team was led by corporate partner Mark Shepherd, assisted by Alex Lloyd, Ian Bond and SIPP and SSAS specialists from across the firm. Mark Shepherd comments: "We are pleased to have been able to support Embark again. This is the latest in a series of strategic transactions on which we have worked in partnership with Embark as it consolidates its position as a key player in the SIPP and SSAS market. The acquisition of EBS fits perfectly with Embark’s long-term plans and we look forward to watching the enlarged group continue to flourish."
Phil Smith, Group CEO of Embark, said: "We have once again been delighted by the quality and precision of the team at Burges Salmon. They have become an integral and trusted partner to our business. To us they are simply the best deal team in the country."
Law firm Stephenson Harwood acted on behalf of Charles Stanley PLC.