KBL epb expands UK footprint with acquisition of NW Brown

• Brown Shipley, member of KBL European Private Bankers, to acquire UK-based wealth management firm with over €1 billion in AuMs
• Fourth UK acquisition by KBL epb group in past four years

KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb), the pan-European private banking group, announced today that its UK affiliate, Brown Shipley, has signed an agreement to acquire NW Brown & Co. Limited, a boutique wealth manager with over €1 billion in assets under management.

The acquisition of NW Brown, which employs some 75 staff in two UK offices, marks the KBL epb group’s fourth acquisition in the UK in the past four years – over a period when the group has also made major acquisitions in Belgium and the Netherlands.

NW Brown, founded in Cambridge in 1974, provides financial planning and investment management services to wealthy individuals and their families, while also extending corporate solutions.

The acquisition – which remains subject to regulatory approval – is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year, increasing Brown Shipley’s total assets under management to over €10 billion. Following closing, NW Brown will be fully integrated into Brown Shipley in 2020, complementing the bank’s six existing offices with a new hub in East Anglia.

“Today’s announcement represents an exciting and significant step in our ongoing drive to increase scale and extend our reach,” said Alan Mathewson, CEO of Brown Shipley, which was founded in 1810 and offers wealth management services to both domestic and international clients.

“At Brown Shipley, we want to be where wealth is being created,” he said. “Cambridge is one of the UK’s most vibrant centers of innovation and entrepreneurship, providing us with a significant opportunity to grow across this future-focused region of the country.

“We look forward to welcoming the NW Brown team and their clients to Brown Shipley and the wider KBL epb family at this inflection point in the history of our group.”

Oliver Phillips, CEO of NW Brown, who will continue to lead the East Anglia business post-acquisition, said: “This is a positive development for everyone associated with NW Brown, most importantly our clients and employees. By joining Brown Shipley, our clients will benefit from access to additional expertise and a wider range of services – supported by an advice-led business with a rich history and clear vision for the future.”