Equistone Partners Europe-backed WEALTH at work – a provider of financial education in the workplace for the private sector – has acquired the Affinity group of companies (The Farleigh Group Ltd) based in Bristol.
Affinity is a provider of financial education in the public sector with over 200 employers including local authorities, fire and police services and the NHS, throughout the UK. The acquisition is hugely significant, not only broadening coverage to now include both the private and public sectors, but also increasing assets under management to over GBP1.5 billion. Most importantly, the move comes at a time when public policy, legislative and regulatory changes are rapidly increasing the demand for financial education in the workplace.
WEALTH at work was backed by Equistone Partners Europe in a GBP50 million management buyout in August 2015.
David Cassidy, CEO, WEALTH at work, says: "We are very excited about the acquisition of Affinity (The Farleigh Group Ltd) as we continue to build on our position of being the leading provider of financial education in the workplace. We now cover both the private and public sectors and, most importantly, have not only deepened our penetration of the market but also significantly increased our capacity to meet the fast growing demand for our services. The recent pension changes are giving us a strong tail wind resulting in growing momentum for our business.
Steve O’Hare, partner at Equistone Partners Europe, says: “We are delighted to have supported WEALTH at work to acquire Affinity (The Farleigh Group Ltd) as we continue to build on becoming the leading provider of financial education and advice in both the private and public sector. This acquisition will add to our capacity to meet the growing demand for WEALTH at work services.”
