AJ Bell has agreed to sell its Platinum SIPP and SSAS business to InvestAcc for a deal worth up to £25m.

The consideration will comprise an initial £18.5m upon completion, made up of £17.5m in cash and £1m worth of new InvestAcc shares. Another £6.5m of deferred consideration in cash could be included subject to certain conditions being met.

AJ Bell Platinum has 3,600 customers with £3.2bn of assets under administration, which will transfer to InvestAcc on completion. The parties expect the deal to complete in the second half of 2025.

In the year to 30 September 2024, AJ Bell Platinum contributed £10m to its non-platform revenue.

“Our strategy is to provide easy-to-use, low-cost platform propositions using a single, scalable operating model to capitalise on the significant long-term growth opportunity in the UK investment platform market,” AJ Bell CEO, Michael Summersgill, said.

“The sale simplifies our business model, enabling the management team to focus on AJ Bell’s core platform business, in line with our growth strategy across both the advised and direct-to-consumer market segments.”

InvestAcc CEO, Will Self, added: “We are excited to announce the acquisition of the Platinum SIPP and SSAS business from AJ Bell. Its exceptional service proposition and high-quality products make it a perfect strategic fit for InvestAcc.

“We look forward to collaborating with AJ Bell to ensure a seamless migration and integration of AJ Bell Platinum customers and staff.”

---