consolidation

Kent-based IFA Brunning Newton Houghton (BNHL) is preparing to lose hundreds of clients as it seeks to cut costs in 2009.

Small financial advisers are being forced to shelve expansion plans as larger firms continue to swallow up the market, IFAs say.

A company designed to assist IFAs considering buying another practice or selling up has been launched in response to "growing" M&A activity.

A new national adviser firm has been launched with over £100m backing to buy other regional financial advice companies.

Up to 1043 jobs could be lost as the UK IFA industry consolidates over the next 12 months, according to the 3rd edition 2008 Plimsoll Analysis.

Tough markets are taking their toll on adviser firms with 151 in danger of extinction unless they make significant changes, according to a report by industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing.

Thinc Group has acquired Crest Financial Group, a Bristol-based adviser, and its associated mortgage and IFA businesses for an undisclosed sum.

The financial advice industry is likely to consolidate in the wake of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), according to Thinc Group's Patrick Murphy.

Consumers consolidating debts into their monthly mortgage repayments could be making an "expensive mistake", according to personal finance data analyst Moneynet.co.uk.

IFA consolidation will be an inevitable by-product of regulatory pressures and will lead to a shift in the market, according to Cofunds' chief executive Charles Eppinger.