Marwyn Acquisition Company II Limited (MAC II) has entered into binding agreements to acquire 100 per cent of the issued share capital of InvestAcc Group Limited (“InvestAcc”), a leading pensions services provider, for £41.5 million representing an enterprise value of approximately £36 million on a cash-free debt-free basis, partly funded via an equity fundraising aimed at a select group of institutional investors. On completion, MAC II is to be renamed InvestAcc.

MAC II was founded by Marwyn and Mark Hodges. Marwyn has a long track record of building UK public companies and creating industry leaders having launched twelve previous acquisition companies including BCA Marketplace, Breedon Aggregates and Entertainment One, and more recently Advanced AdvT and Zegona Communications.

MAC II’s strategy is to build the UK’s leading specialist pensions administration business in the public markets with an initial focus on the SIPP segment, a highly attractive investment opportunity. InvestAcc is the first and key step in executing this strategy.

InvestAcc is an award-winning provider of self-invested personal pension (“SIPP”) and small self-administered scheme (“SSAS”) services in the UK. MAC II believes that InvestAcc provides the optimal strategic platform to create value through a SIPP buy and build strategy. The business benefits from being a leading UK personal pension administrator, having a proven track record of delivering exceptional customer service, scalable operations and infrastructure, a strong financial profile and a sustainable organic growth trajectory. All of the management team, including the founder, are expected to stay with the business post completion.

MAC II Chairman Mark Hodges commented: “We have long admired InvestAcc Group, a leading UK personal pension administrator with a loyal and growing customer base. With a greater focus on savings, changing demographics and a growing reliance on the family, the pensions administration industry plays an important role in securing financial independence and security for customers over the long-term. Once completion occurs, we look forward to investing further in InvestAcc’s proposition and unlocking an ambitious M&A agenda to build the UK’s leading specialist pensions administrator”.

Will Self, CEO of MAC II, added: “We are thrilled to have announced the proposed acquisition of the InvestAcc Group. We have deep respect for Nick and his team and look forward to supporting the business during this exciting next phase of growth. We understand the market well and are confident InvestAcc is the perfect business on which to base our buy-and-build strategy. Our ambition is to bring their leading customer proposition to more people across the UK as the self-invested pensions market expands.”

Nick Gardner, founder and Managing Director of the InvestAcc Group, said: “I am confident that by working closely with Mark, Will and the team, we will see InvestAcc continue to grow and bring our brilliant offering to more customers around the UK. We will benefit greatly from their expertise to take our business to the next level and I’m excited for what comes next.”