Backing a buy-and-build platform to consolidate the UK financial advice sector

Liberate Wealth was established in 2022 to address a significant structural opportunity within the highly fragmented UK Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) market.

Capitalizing on a market where many aging principals require succession options, the business required patient capital, experienced governance, and a scalable infrastructure. VAR Capital structured and provided the initial equity and credit investment from its family office clients to seed the platform from inception. Through ongoing advisory support, board governance, and the design of a disciplined acquisition and technology framework, Liberate Wealth completed two strategic acquisitions, surpassed £500 million in combined assets under advice, and achieved profitability within two years. The business was subsequently named an FT Adviser Top 100 Firm in 2025.

The client is Liberate Wealth, a buy-and-build wealth management platform established in 2022 with the long-term ambition to build a nationally significant, independently owned wealth management group.

The UK IFA market is highly fragmented, characterized by a structure where 88 percent of advisory firms operate with five or fewer advisers.

A significant cohort of these business principals are aged 50 and older, and they are approaching retirement with limited viable succession options. Retiring IFA owners systematically require a credible alternative acquirer who can offer long-term continuity for their clients and stable careers for existing staff, without selling out to a large consolidator that might disrupt their established corporate culture and relationships. To address this gap and build a scaled, high-quality regional wealth management group through targeted acquisitions, the founding management team required patient capital, experienced board governance, and an operational infrastructure capable of identifying, acquiring, and integrating multiple firms over time.

VAR Capital structured and provided the initial equity and credit investment from its family office clients to establish and seed Liberate Wealth's buy-and-build platform, backing the founding management team from inception.

We actively supported the recruitment of a central management team with deep IFA sector experience and assisted in the assembly of an experienced board, which included VAR Capital partners serving as board advisers. Our team provided continuous ongoing advisory support through the execution of two completed acquisitions, successfully establishing operational hubs in Leeds and Taunton while building a combined assets under advice base of over £500 million. Furthermore, we assisted management in designing a highly disciplined acquisition framework that targeted profitable firms with recurring revenue bases above 75 percent, typically acquired at 6 to 10 times EBITDA with earnouts structured to be largely self-funding from acquisition cash flows. To create a meaningful operational differentiator over smaller firms reliant on manual processes, we also supported the development of Liberate Wealth's proprietary technology platform to fully automate financial reporting, adviser performance tracking, and client management.

Driven by disciplined integration, strategic fee restructuring, and cost centralization, the business successfully transitioned from being loss-making at inception to EBITDA and cash flow positive within two years of VAR Capital's initial investment.

A scalable, technology-enabled platform is now fully in place to support three to five acquisitions per year, backed by a live pipeline of further targets across Yorkshire, the Southwest, and beyond. The firm's growth, client service, and regulatory standards culminated in it being named an FT Adviser Top 100 Firm in 2025, one of the UK's most respected financial advice rankings. This remains an ongoing relationship, and VAR Capital continues to act as an active board adviser and capital partner as Liberate Wealth pursues its national expansion.