XPS Pensions Group plc has acquired the entire issued share capital of Penfida Limited (“Penfida”) the leading independent corporate finance and covenant advisor to UK pension funds, for a total cash consideration of £11.6 million.
Penfida was established in 2005, with the mission of providing corporate finance advice mainly to pension fund trustees, both in respect of complex corporate transactions as well as regular covenant advisory work in connection with pensions schemes’ triennial valuations and monitoring. Penfida has built up a substantial presence in the market as the leading independent specialist adviser, with clients representing in aggregate in excess of £300bn of assets.
Under the pensions regulatory framework, all pension scheme trustees require actuarial advice, investment advice, administration services and advice about the strength of the sponsoring employer (referred to as the ‘employer covenant strength’). XPS has a strong offering in the first three of these areas, and a successful and growing employer covenant practice.
Penfida’s business will be combined with the existing XPS covenant team, significantly boosting capability and giving critical mass in this important area. The acquisition will enable XPS to offer covenant advisory services to a wider range of XPS clients while Penfida clients and staff will benefit from access to the wider capability of XPS. The business unit will be led by the current Penfida management team, including Senior Partner Paul Jameson, integrating with the wider XPS Group over time.
The acquisition comes at a time of strong growth for XPS, with the Group also announcing this morning organic revenue growth of 12% in the first five months of its financial year, which began on 31 March 2022.
Paul Jameson, Senior Partner, Penfida Limited, said: “We are delighted to be joining the XPS family where the culture and values of the firm align with our own. As part of XPS we will be able to continue to provide independent advice to our clients and we will benefit from ongoing investment to enable the combined business to grow and thrive into the future.”
Paul Cuff, XPS Pensions Group Co-CEO, said: “Penfida is a business that we have known and admired for a long time. We have seen first-hand the high-quality service they provide when we have worked on clients we have in common. We are excited to welcome their fantastic team. Their expertise complements our existing strong and growing covenant business and means we can offer a market leading service to current and future clients across the entire spectrum of services that they need.”
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