Warburg Pincus and CD&R near deal to buy Canaccord’s UK wealth division
Private equity groups are in advanced buyout talks at £1bn-plus valuation as deals wave sweeps sector
Private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Clayton Dubilier & Rice are in advanced talks to buy Canadian financial services group Canaccord Genuity’s UK wealth business, as a wave of dealmaking sweeps through the sector.
The deal would give Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management UK an enterprise value of about £1bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
The business, which operates in the so-called mass affluent and high-net-worth segment of the market, is majority owned by Canada-listed Canaccord, which has a market capitalisation of C$1.4bn ($1bn). New York-based private credit firm HPS Investment Partners also owns a minority stake.
Canaccord, Warburg Pincus, CD&R and HPS declined to comment. The deal could yet fall apart and other bidders could emerge for the wealth business, said one person familiar with the matter.
The global wealth management industry is consolidating, as groups bulk up to combat pressure from rising regulatory costs and competition from cheaper “DIY” investment sites. Buyers such as private equity firms are attracted to the sector because it offers recurring revenues, is supported by demographic changes such as people living longer and has scalable operating models.
Earlier this year NatWest beat competition from rival bank Barclays to secure a more than £2.5bn takeover of Evelyn Partners, one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers, itself the result of an earlier merger between Tilney and Smith & Williamson.
Meanwhile, US-based Corient, backed by Mubadala Capital, has emerged as the largest non-bank wealth manager in the world through a series of acquisitions over the past six years. It has been on a shopping spree in Europe in the past year, buying Stanhope Capital Group, Stonehage Fleming and Bedrock Group.
Canaccord’s UK wealth management business provides financial advice to clients with assets of more than £250,000 or investment management services to clients who have over £250,000 of investable assets.
The UK and Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Channel Islands made up almost 43 per cent of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management’s global revenues of C$305.1mn in the company’s first fiscal quarter ending in June.
The UK wealth business also accounts for the lion’s share of the assets, with C$81.7bn, compared with C$59.5bn for North America and C$19bn for Australia.
In the past, Canaccord has embarked on acquisitions to expand in the UK. It bought the investment management business of Adam & Company from Royal Bank of Scotland for £54mn in 2021 and acquired Punter Southall Wealth in 2022.
The FT reported in November 2024 that Canaccord was working with bankers to run a strategic review of the UK wealth management business and assess its future within the wider group.