Moneygate

Moneygate on par with Golf Union deal

Moneygate hits the acquisition trail

MONEYGATE ON PAR WITH GOLF UNION DEAL

Award-winning financial services company Moneygate has swung a major sponsorship with the Scottish Golf Union (SGU).

Moneygate, which is one of the UK’s fastest growing financial services companies, has signed a three-year deal worth more than £50,000 to be the new sponsor of the Scottish Area Team Championship.

The agreement will also see Moneygate become the official Independent Financial Advisers to the SGU and their 240,000 members.

The sponsorship provides a boost for the Scottish Area Team Championship, which reverts to a new format this year when the event takes place over one weekend, May 15 to 16. The Championship will be staged at Kinross over the Montgomery and Bruce courses, with the leading six players from each of the SGU’s 16 area associations taking part.

Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union, said: “We are delighted to bring Moneygate on board as our new partners and sponsors of the Scottish Area Team Championship. They are an ambitious company with a desire to grow their brand in Scotland and see the SGU as a great platform to deliver that.

"The sponsorship market has obviously been very challenging during the difficult economic climate so it’s great to add a new brand to our portfolio. It is fantastic news for the Championship and Moneygate’s investment will help lift the event to another level."

Moneygate, which launched in 2006, has offices in Newcastle, London and Edinburgh and provide financial services to consumers throughout the UK. The company recently announced major expansion plans to grow its adviser network from 75 to 750 in four years.

Dennis Reed, Sales Director for Moneygate, is looking forward to his company’s partnership with the SGU.

He said: “The SGU has a fantastic track record at governance on and off the course in recent years and we are very much looking forward to raising the company’s profile in Scotland through our partnership. We firmly believe golf members in Scotland will benefit from using our products and services and hope that we can become an established supporter for amateur golf for many years to come.

MONEYGATE HITS THE ACQUISITION TRAIL

One of the UK’s fastest growing IFA firms Moneygate Group has gone on the acquisition trail as it looks to aggressively grow its business under a four-year expansion plan.

The move comes after The Moneygate Group secured an undisclosed and substantial capital injection from MGT Capital Investments (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Amex-listed MGT Capital Investments Inc.

The investment is being used to increase its IFA network from 75 to 750 advisers over the next four years. Already Moneygate has made two strategic acquisitions in Derwent Financial Solutions and Expert Money - both North East based firms, which will add over £1 million to company turnover.

Moneygate's Chief Executive Lee Hartley described the rationale behind these deals: "Derwent is a highly respected regional IFA business that we have been aware of for some time and will help to provide the platform for our growth programme. Expert Money is a completely different prospect, as they are an established operation in the lead generation space. We intend to merge the business with our existing outsourced lead generation channel, Money Professional, to strengthen our position in this sector.

"The recent investment makes Moneygate both well funded and well placed to achieve our aims. We are looking at a variety of opportunities which represent value to us in many forms – some via adviser numbers, other via assets under management and others simply through client base.

Principals of both firms have joined Moneygate as part of the respective deal structures. Stephen Banks from Derwent FS and Charles Burns from Expert Money have both taken up positions within Moneygate Group from the start of March.

These acquisitions represent the first stages in a strategy by Moneygate to become the number one nationally branded IFA for the mass affluent sector. Senior management at Moneygate are already in discussions with a further six IFA businesses, with a view to completing at least three of these deals by the end of this year.

Lee Hartley added: "Our initial target is to acquire three IFA businesses over the next 12 months and we are on course to achieve this. We have a proven business model, built on a sound technology footing, which enables us to integrate other businesses quickly and efficiently. We are willing to look at all types of business provided that there is a core of quality to their operation - good advisers and good client banks are more important to us than financial performance. "

The Moneygate Group, based in the North East of England, restructured in 2008, refocusing its activities into the more robust IFA sector, whilst closing its dedicated mortgage channel. The group now provides financial advice across every product set, from pensions and investments through to protection and general insurance.

Mr Hartley believes the IFA market will gradually consolidate over the next two years as it becomes leaner but stronger, especially in the wake of RDR changes.

He added: "Many IFA businesses are facing challenges in the current climate and some will find the rigorous demands of RDR too overwhelming to meet within their existing business resources. As a result, we believe more small and medium sized outfits will be looking to exit, merge or join a larger organisation that can provide a framework in which to operate more effectively.

"Our plans to handle the incoming RDR changes are already in place – we want to have a business that is prepared well ahead of time and which also sees the new regulatory landscape as an opportunity rather than a threat."

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