N W Brown to merge operations into Brown Shipley

N W Brown, the Cambridge and Norwich-based wealth management firm, is to merge its operations into Brown Shipley.

The merger will create a business with almost £9billion of assets under management.

It is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter this year, subject to regulatory approvals, with full integration next year.

Brown Shipley is a UK authorised private bank offering wealth planning, investment management and lending services across six offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds and Edinburgh

N W Brown, founded in Cambridge in 1974, offers wealth management and employee pensions and benefits services. Its clients are individuals, corporates and not-for-profits.

It expanded in 2009 after acquiring a Norwich-based company of financial advisers.

Now employing 74 people, it has £1billion of discretionary funds under management, and will become the East Anglian hub of the wider company.

Oliver Phillips, CEO of N W Brown, who will continue to lead the business here, said: “This is a hugely positive development for everyone associated with N W Brown, most importantly our clients and our people.

“By joining Brown Shipley, our clients will benefit from access to a broader range of services, in particular the ability to borrow against the portfolios that we manage for them.

“We are delighted to join a company with a set of values and a vision of wealth management that so closely mirrors our own. We look forward to working together as part of a company with such a rich history as we look to expand our business over the coming years.”

The move forms part of a growth strategy for Brown Shipley, adding scale and another region to its business.

Alan Mathewson, CEO of Brown Shipley, added: “This is an exciting and significant step in the ongoing drive to increase our scale across the UK.

“There are numerous synergies between Brown Shipley and NW Brown across our wealth management client propositions and employee culture, making the business an ideal fit for us.

“Cambridge, Norwich and the surrounding area is a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurialism and this development provides significant opportunities for us to grow across the region.

“We are delighted to welcome the N W Brown team to Brown Shipley and look forward to putting in place the exciting growth plans we have for the business.”

Brown Shipley has a heritage dating back to 1810. During recent growth, it has acquired Hampton Dean, a chartered independent firm of financial planners based in Nottingham in 2015, was joined by The Roberts Partnership, a financial planning and wealth management firm based in Manchester in 2016 and acquired the UK branch of Insinger de Beaufort in 2017.

Its parent company is KBL European Private Bankers, a Luxembourg-based network of private banks and wealth managers across Europe.

N W Brown is due to hold its annual reception at St John’s College on Thursday, June 27.

The financial terms of the proposed merger have not been disclosed.