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Openwork moves into IFA space with 2Plan acquisition
15 September 2010
Multi-tied network Openwork has bought national IFA 2Plan Wealth Management for an undisclosed sum as part of its plan to develop a whole of market proposition through acquisition. Openwork, which is 25% owned by Zurich, has set up a holding company which own 2Plan outright including the 15% stake previously owned by Standard Life. The directors, staff, and 205 advisers currently at 2Plan will continue in their current roles as the operation will be run separately to Openwork’s existing multi tied adviser service. Whole of market advisers joining Openwork will now join 2Plan, with Openwork advisers set to benefit from the range of investment opportunities offered by 2Plan. Openwork currently has a small whole of market service, Openwork Market Solutions, who are referred to in the event of a suitable product not being on offer by its multi-tied members. It is not yet clear whether this arm of the business will become part of 2Plan. The cost of the deal has not been disclosed although it is understood 2Plan’s £9 million debt to Standard Life has been cleared as part of the deal. Chris Smallwood, 2Plan’s chief executive, said the Leeds-based firm had been looking for a new backer since last year after a difference of opinion with part-owners Standard Life over the future direction of the business. ‘The people who started off at Standard Life, like Trevor Matthews, have either left or moved to a different job,’ he said. ‘When David Nish became the new chief executive he had different ideas of the future and it became clear that our future strategies were not the same as theirs,’ he said. ‘Everyone has been very professional, Standard Life carried on funding it and we appointed KPMG and took ourselves onto the market, we had interest from a number of insurance companies and distributors and even a couple of US firms.’ Martin Davis (pictured on the left), chief executive of Openwork, said there was demand for an IFA service within Openwork adding there would be a lot of cross over between the two operations. ‘There will be a lot of cross over. There’s demand within the advisor business for IFAs. We have advisers who want to become IFAs, and want to grow their businesses by recruiting IFAs and this gives them that opportunity to have that proposition,’ he said. Davis said 2Plan’s size and use of technology made it attractive and Openwork’s loan book would be open 2Plan. ‘We wanted a small entrepreneurial business that could grow, and because of it’s IT it has scalability,’ he said. ‘We have a big loan book and I made it clear…. that because 2Plan is part of Openwork we would support it.’ ‘The deal makes absolute sense for both businesses and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to make this acquisition at this time.’ Published by CityWire
