Financial advice sector set for accelerated acquisition activity

Research by Plimsoll found that a combination of factors is forcing smaller companies to consider selling to their larger rivals and larger players are looking to buy their smaller rivals to diversify and develop their businesses. The report identified that for the last few years the larger companies have been surviving on wafer thin margins, most making 1.6pc or less, while 100 of the UK's top 1347 players were losing money. David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, said the consolidation trend was driven by necessity. "Many of the larger players in the market, despite the downturn,...