REG - B.P. Marsh &Partners - Investee Company Update disposal by LEBC of Aspira

B.P. Marsh & PartnersAnnouncement

13/11/2023 09:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20231113:nRSM2421Ta&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 2421T  B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC  13 November 2023

13 November 2023

B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc

("B.P. Marsh", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Investee Company Update - disposal by LEBC Holdings Limited of Aspira
Corporate Solutions Limited

 

B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc (AIM:BPM), the specialist private equity
investor in early stage financial services businesses, is pleased to announce
that LEBC Holdings Limited ("LEBC") has conditionally sold Aspira Corporate
Solutions Limited ("Aspira"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of LEBC, to Titan
Wealth Holdings Limited ("Titan Wealth"), the discretionary fund
management/wealth and asset management business (the "Transaction").

 

Background to the Investment

 

B.P. Marsh invested in LEBC in 2007, when its main operating subsidiary was
LEBC Group Limited ("LEBC Group"), the national independent financial advisory
("IFA") firm. In 2017, LEBC acquired Aspira, the Bristol-based IFA founded in
2003 by its CEO, Derek Miles.

 

B.P. Marsh has a 59.34% shareholding in LEBC (the only majority position held
within the current portfolio), the business of which has grown to provide
pensions and investment advice to more than 1,600 corporate entities and over
15,000 individuals with circa £4 billion of assets under advice.

 

As previously announced, over the past three years LEBC has gone through a
restructuring process led by Derek Miles and his management team in close
consultation with the FCA. As announced by the Company on 9 August 2023, this
process resulted in the consolidation of LEBC Group into Aspira, bringing the
two businesses together under one brand with the intention of delivering an
enhanced service for individual and corporate clients.

 

B.P. Marsh has been invested in LEBC for over 15 years and has supported the
business through many changes in the advice market. The new ownership under
Titan Wealth offers an exciting future for Aspira, and the Company wishes all
stakeholders every success.

 

The Transaction

 

On 10 November 2023, LEBC agreed to sell 100% of Aspira to Titan Wealth,
subject to regulatory approval.

 

LEBC will receive proceeds of sale over a three year earn-out period. The
Group's expectation is that this will be at least in line with the Company's
most recent published valuation of LEBC as at 31 July 2023, of £15,947,000.
Additionally, the Group expects to receive repayment in full of its
outstanding loans with LEBC, a total of £3.3m.

 

The Transaction will also allow LEBC to meet its obligations, as agreed with
the FCA, regarding historical defined benefit pension transfer advice.

 

Commenting on the Transaction, Derek Miles, Chief Executive Officer of Aspira,
said:

 

"I would like to thank all at B.P. Marsh for their longstanding support of
LEBC and Aspira since their original investment back in 2007. Since I became
CEO of the business in 2020, I have worked very closely with B.P. Marsh, who
supported me fully in a comprehensive restructuring of the business, which has
led to this eventual sale.

 

Such a sale has safeguarded the future of Aspira, as by combining our
strengths and resources with Titan Wealth, we will be able to provide even
greater value to our customers and further enhance our pensions advisory
service. This would not have been possible without the full support of B.P.
Marsh."

 

Oliver Bogue, Non-Executive Chairman of LEBC and B.P. Marsh Nominee Director
on the Board of LEBC and Aspira, stated:

 

"It has been a pleasure to work with Derek Miles and the team at Aspira,
seeing the business through this period of transformational change. This sale
marks an exciting new chapter for Aspira, and is a natural next step in their
progression.

 

At B.P. Marsh's current valuation, this transaction produces an Internal Rate
of Return of 8.33%. This investment outlines B.P. Marsh's ability to support a
business in the long term through uncertain times, safeguarding shareholder
value. Such a result is also testament to Derek Miles and his team, given the
fundamental changes the business has been though over the past number of
years."

 

 

 

For further
information:

 

 B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc                                            www.bpmarsh.co.uk (http://www.bpmarsh.co.uk/)
 Brian Marsh OBE                                                      +44 (0)20 7233 3112

 Nominated Adviser & Broker

 Panmure Gordon
 Atholl Tweedie / Stephen Jones / Amrit Mahbubani / Ailsa MacMaster   +44 (0)20 7886 2500

 Financial PR & Investor Relations
 Tavistock                                                            bpmarsh@tavistock.co.uk
 Simon Hudson / Tim Pearson / Katie Hopkins                           +44 (0)20 7920 3150

 

Notes to Editors:

B.P. Marsh's current portfolio contains fourteen companies. More detailed
descriptions of the portfolio can be found at www.bpmarsh.co.uk
(http://www.bpmarsh.co.uk/) .

 

Since formation over 30 years ago, the Company has assembled a management team
with considerable experience both in the financial services sector and in
managing private equity investments. Many of the directors have worked with
each other in previous roles, and all have worked with each other for
approaching ten years.

 

 

- Ends -

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DISBJBLTMTJBMLJ