Acorn to Oaks Financial Services, a Preston based financial adviser, has been purchased by City of London Group PLC (COLG) in a transaction that has been in the pipeline since July 2018. City of London Group, an investment firm listed on the FTSE Fledgling Index, specialises in the UK SME market, while Acorn to Oaks advises on investments, pensions and mortgages.
COLG will pay £1.4m upfront for the acquisition, which will be satisfied by issuing Acorn to Oaks’ founders, Claire and Jason Oakley, with zero-coupon bonds that can be exchanged for City of London Group shares. A further consideration of upto £5M will be paid, dependent on performance.
City of London CEO Michael Goldstein said: “We are pleased to announce that City of London Group has entered into an agreement to acquire A2O, pending FCA approval. A2O fits perfectly into our sweet spot by focussing on SMEs and having a strong regional network.
“We are confident that this acquisition will be an important factor in helping to grow the lending side of the business.”
City of London Group have applied for the new ordinary shares, of which over 82,000 2p shares have been issued, to trade on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
City of London shares were untraded on Monday, last quoted at a price of 149.50 pence each.
