GRP-owned Castle Insurance Services added M R Lonsdale & Partners in Durham, while AssuredPartners continued its expansion in the South West with the acquisition of SouthWest Brokers, which trades as Westinsure Plymouth.
IFA transactions 'notable'
Investment M&A was also strong, "primarily driven by several notable IFA transactions", Imas said.
This included Progeny announcing plans to buy chartered financial planning firm Gibbs Denley, extending its national footprint to East Anglia and taking AUM to more than £7.5bn.
Fairstone marked its second IFA purchase of the year with Spalding-based advice firm, MT Financial Management, adding £200mn to its AUM.
In terms of vertical integration, Schroders-owned Benchmark Capital completed its second acquisition in Northern Ireland with the purchase of Kennedy Independent Financial, adding £80mn in AUM and further progressing the firm’s plan to build a hub in Derry.
Imas added: "Furthermore, there were several reports speculating that Australia-based Macquarie Group is considering a £5bn takeover of London-listed asset manager M&G. Kingswood confirmed that it is considering the sale of its UK business, with a potential value of £250mn.
"March marked a tumultuous period for the banking subsector, with the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank leading to HSBC acquiring the UK arm for £1, and UBS rescuing Credit Suisse for $3.25bn."
It was also reported that Barings is to acquire Australia-based Gryphon Capital Partners, the parent company of Gryphon Capital Investments.
The plans to sell the fund administrator, Link Fund Solutions, is in doubt after a senior management crisis at the bidding firm Waystone Group.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
