In the wake of their tax profits tripling, Xafinity has revealed that it is acquiring its Bristol-based rival Punter Southall in a £153m deal.
Both firms specialise in consultancy, pension administration and actuaries.
Xafinity reported a £1.7m increase in profits during the first half of this financial year compared to the last. This comes after introducing their new Radar technology and adding five annuity clients.
The joint chief executives of Xafinity, Paul Cuff and Ben Bramhall, spoke with optimism about the transaction. Mr Cuff said:
“The announcement today regarding the transaction with Punter Southall is very exciting news for everyone at Xafinity, and it follows a successful period for the company built on the back of a series of impressive client wins.
“We have a very clear strategy to build market share in the pensions advisory space, and the merger of these three divisions from PS group with Xafinity will enable us to achieve our aim of becoming the clear alternative to the Big Three in the pensions consultancy sector.”
Ben Bramhall commented on the firm’s promising results this year:
“The company’s performance since 31 March 2017 has been pleasing, and I would like to thank all of our employees for their hard work as the business continues to build momentum as a publicly listed company.”
The acquisition is expected to be completed early on in the new year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. However, the Competitions and Markets Authority has been closely observing the consultancy industry’s competitiveness and will potentially be wary of an acquisition of a close rival within the industry.
Mr Bramhall said: “We fully support the regulator’s decision to explore ways in which the industry can work more effectively. We believe this investigation will be hugely beneficial to pension schemes and trustees, and we look forward to sharing our recommendations with the CMA on how the industry can improve.”
