SimplyBiz acquires Sifa
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SimplyBiz has acquired the trade body and support provider for solicitor IFAs Sifa to provide further support for IFAs who work with the legal profession.
SimplyBiz first approached Sifa about the deal in June, and completed the acquisition yesterday for an undisclosed amount.
Sifa’s 170 member firms, which include over 1,000 advisers, will come under the SimplyBiz brand. SimplyBiz provides compliance and support services to over 2,000 financial services firms, including 5,000 advisers.
SimplyBiz has invested £200,000 into Sifa, separate from the purchase price, and says it is prepared to make further investment where necessary.
Sifa founder Ian Muirhead will continue in his role as managing director. He says: “What we are looking at is two businesses which are complementary. We have been particularly pleased that SimplyBiz want Sifa to continue as is, because although we are involved in a niche area of the market it is a very important area for professional development: getting IFAs into the professional community.
“We believe that the market opportunity arising out of the Legal Services Act and the RDR is bigger than Sifa could have handled effectively on its own. The extra financial muscle that SimplyBiz brings will make a real impact in the solicitor market.”
(pictured: Sifa founder and managing director Ian Muirhead, SimplyBiz chairman Ken Davy, SimplyBiz joint managing director Neil Stevens, SimplyBiz joint managing director Matthew Timmins)
The Legal Services Act comes into effect in October. It will establish alternative business structures in England and Wales and aims to make the UK legal market more competitive. Under the act non-law firms will be able to provide legal services and external investment into law firms will be permitted.
SimplyBiz joint managing director Matthew Timmins says: “SimplyBiz has been monitoring Sifa for a number of years now and we have always been impressed with the way the business is run. It is an ideal opportunity with the combination of the Legal Services Act and the RDR. We want to become part of the professional community, which Sifa is uniquely well positioned to support.”
In addition to SimplyBiz and Sifa, the SimplyBiz Group also includes Compliance First, Verbatim Asset Management, SimplyBiz Mortgages and the New Model Business Academy.
Sifa was established in 1992 to support involvement by solicitors in financial services work. It extended its membership to accountancy IFAs in 2001. Following the Legal Services Act reforms, Sifa aims to support interaction between solicitors, accountants and IFAs.
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Readers' comments (10)
Simon Mansell | 16 Aug 2011 10:09 am
Good move and in keeping with the independent brand that simplybiz promotes! NB: All you other Network members ought to ask why your CEO didn't join Ken Davy when it came to supporting the IFA against the lunacy of RDR? Could it be to do with the orphan trail fees they will inherit when 10,000 of you bite the dust?
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john crisp | 16 Aug 2011 10:23 am
Extremely well put Simon, I have wondered for years why IFA'S continue to allow Networks to rob them of their hard earned money for doing nothing.
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charlie palmer | 16 Aug 2011 11:13 am
you can be in a hybrid network and be independent.
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Patrick Schan | 16 Aug 2011 11:20 am
Simon Mansell makes an extremely pertinent point that other network members should address.
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Ian McIver | 16 Aug 2011 11:25 am
Being in a network does not make you non-independent. They provide a compliance framework so what's the big deal. There is no such thing as a hybrid network - you can't have half the responsibility for the advice.
Members who become orphan/retire see commission stop because they can no longer trade so the winner is the provider - fact.If I received it I would pass it on.
A much bigger issue is networks that state to be independent and then have an insistence on use of a certain panel, platform, own funds etc - that grates and I don't understand why an indepently thinking adviser falls for it. You can't be half independent.
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john | 16 Aug 2011 12:23 pm
Jekyll & Hyde
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sean pease | 16 Aug 2011 3:16 pm
So how will this work, when SIFA will not allow IFA's who are members of networks to join, now they are owned by a network, can we expect a U turn from SIFA ?
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Matthew Timmins | 17 Aug 2011 9:50 am
Hi Sean, this is quite simple as Simply Biz are NOT a network. We are a support services company for directly regulated financial advisers.
SIFA will also continue to operate as a separate business, serving the needs of their member firms. That of course means you will still be able to join SIFA without becoming a member of Simply Biz at all. In addition though, you will over time, be able to enjoy further group benefits, should you want them. This acquisition is about growing SIFA and its member benefits.
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Iain Fairlie | 17 Aug 2011 10:21 am
This is an clever move for both parties. SIFA members gain access to a whole suite of services at a competitive cost and Simply Biz welcome more thoroughly independent advisers with plenty of strong professional connections.
Simply Biz seems to be sticking its money where its mouth is and betting on the truly independent sector post-RDR. Well done.
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C Nickal | 19 Aug 2011 10:40 am
Possibly a move to keep their numbers up post RDR too?
Also...and perish the thought it might also have been purchased to make more money for SimplyBiz!!!
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