Bath-based financial services firm Novia is predicting a step change in its growth next year after being acquired by one of Europe’s top private equity firms.
One of Bath’s highest profile firms due to its sponsorship of Bath Rugby, Novia – which delivers market leading investment technology and service to advisers and their clients – is the latest acquisition for AnaCap Financial, which operates out of offices in London, Luxembourg, New Delhi, Madrid and Lisbon.
Its sale adds £8.15bn of assets, 67,000 clients and more than 1,000 advice firms to AnaCap’s growing portfolio.
Novia chief executive Bill Vasilieff, pictured, who founded the business in 2008 and has steered its strong growth since, said: “Novia was keen to partner with a company that had a strong track record in growing fintech businesses with innovative operational strategies.
“We believe that AnaCap represents the perfect choice to help us develop and, pending completion, we look forward to an exciting new chapter for the company in 2021 and beyond.”
Financial details of the deal – completion of which is subject to regulatory approval – have not been disclosed. All Novia staff will retain their jobs and the business will continue to be headquartered in Bath
AnaCap is the leading financial sector investor in the European mid-market, investing across the industry through complementary private equity and credit platforms.
Since 2005 it has raised €5.1bn in assets under management and completed more than 85 primary investments across 15 European jurisdictions.
AnaCap merger and acquisition partner Nassim Cherchali described the Novia takeover as an “exciting acquisition” and a “truly fundamental deal” in the firm’s strategy across the UK wealth management platform industry.
He added: “The investment means we have vastly increased our fund management and technological capabilities.
“We look forward to this next chapter, working with Novia’s impressive technology platform to increase its growth via planned investments into distribution and the building of in-house asset management capabilities.”
The Novia deal follows AnaCap’s acquisitions of Wealthtime in December last year and Amber Financial Investments in July.
Across the three platforms, AnaCap now boasts nearly £11bn assets under management. It said it would continue to deploy its “expertise in tech-enabled businesses” to bolster the firms.
The pace of merger and acquisitions activity in the platforms market has been on the up over the past few years.
The Novia deal is the second sale of a Bath-based financial services firm this year and follows Ascentric’s sale to insurance giant M&G.
Ascentric, which had been a wholly owned subsidiary of pension and insurance mutual Royal London since 2014, is a leading developer of digital wraps and wealth management platforms – online services that allow financial advisers to manage their clients’ investment portfolios.
Mr Vasilieff told FTAdviser that for Novia’s clients it would be business as usual.
“Advisers won’t really be impacted, except that in the long-run the plan is that things will continue to evolve and get better,” he said.
In 2015 Novia launched Novia Global, which made its investment technology available to financial advisers across Europe, Dubai and the Cayman Islands.
The firm is a long-time supporter of Bath Rugby and recently renewed its sponsorship for the 2020/2021 season, continuing the use of its branding on the team’s training kit and naming rights on the Novia Stand (South Stand) at The Rec for a third season, along with matchday hospitality.
This season Novia will also sponsor the laptops used by the club’s coaches and analysts.
Novia’s partnership with the Premiership club started in 2011 and it was the club’s shirt sponsor until 2014.
The firm also supports the Bath Children’s Literature Festival and many other institutions in the city. Two years ago it launched its own charity foundation, Novia Foundation, to raise funds for good causes in and around Bath including innovative charities such as Designability and MentoringPlus.
