David Lawrence

The Glasgow firm offers services to families, businesses and professional partners across the central Scotland and Perthshire areas. The SAM team have three advisers and a total of eight employees, managing over 400 clients with over £200 million of AUA.

In the year ending 31 March 2022, SAM generated revenue of £1.2m and profit before tax of £517k. The business will be acquired for total cash consideration of up to £5.1m, payable over a two-year period, £3.1m paid on completion and the balance paid on a deferred basis which is subject to the achievement of pre-agreed performance targets.

David Lawrence, Kingswood Group CEO, commented: “I’m pleased to announce another step forward in the growth of Kingswood as we expand our footprint into Scotland.

“When we are considering acquisitions, we do so with the upmost care, to ensure cultural and client focused alignment. SAM are focused on helping clients across the central belt of Scotland and Perthshire achieve a confident financial future.

“The opportunity to build our relationships across Scotland is an exciting one as we strive to help more people achieve their goals.

“Kingswood’s build and buy strategy continues, with a further four purchase transactions under exclusive due diligence, that we expect to close in the coming months, plus additional transactions that are currently under negotiation.”

Derek Stewart, chief executive of SAM, commented: “SAM was formed in 2001 and put the client at the centre of our proposition through our highly qualified and dedicated team of professionals. Delivering advice in today’s complex markets requires significant resources which Kingswood have and it is no coincidence that they have the same values as SAM; Integrity, Teamwork and Impact.

“We operate in a very similar way and believe this will benefit our clients and present greater development opportunities for our staff. We’re proud to be the first Scottish firm to become part of the Kingswood Group.”

Fiona Stewart, managing director of SAM, commented: “We have worked closely with Kingswood’s key personnel during the due diligence process and have been impressed by the quality of their people, their vision and technology.

“Joining Kingswood will allow our clients and staff access to technology and resources that were out of our reach as a smaller advisory firm.”