Northland is on the hunt to buy fund manager
CITY broker Northland Capital Partners yesterday said it was exploring opportunities to buy a fund management business as it repositions itself away from market making for Aim stocks.
The firm, which was formed in 2010 and offers services to small firms, said it was “actively exploring” acquisition opportunities in the fund and wealth management arena.
Managing director Tim Metcalfe told City A.M.: “We have looked at a number of acquisition opportunities in London but we haven’t found one at the right price yet.
“There’s a lot of change happening with new regulations coming through and that’s creating some change in the market. One of the issues remains price expectations, and any acquisition has to be done at the right price and make sense.”
Northland is owned by parent company Northland Bancorp, based in Canada.
Its chief executive Bob Johnson yesterday said it would grow the UK business “both organically and through selected M&A activity”.
Northland Partners posted a post-tax loss of £1.84m in its latest accounts dated up until March 2012 – up from £1.46m the previous year.
The firm has recently announced plans to pull out of market making for Aim stocks as it refocuses on other client needs.
Northland is led by Metcalfe and executive chairman Stuart Lane.