Giles-chaired financial adviser unveils plans for £50m Aim float

A FINANCIAL advice group chaired by Scottish insurance entrepreneur Chris Giles yesterday unveiled plans for a stock market flotation to raise £28 million.

Perspective Financial Group, launched five years ago to benefit from opportunities from consolidation in the independent financial advice market, is expected to be valued at about £50m when it floats on the Alternative Investment Market.

Cheshire-based Perspective, ranked the eighth fastest-growing company in the UK, has made 31 acquisitions since it was created in 2008. It has some 84,000 private customers and 500 corporate pension clients and operates from 23 offices.

The flotation will provide an exit for private equity backer Mosaic, which owns a 43 per cent stake. Proceeds from the float will help pay down debt and accelerate Perspective’s acquisition strategy.

Giles, who is non-executive chairman as well as chairman of Glasgow-based Giles Insurance Brokers, said: “We believe that Perspective’s size and scale, allied to the market opportunity presented by the retail distribution review, presents a significant opportunity for financial advisers and investors alike.”

Giles is credited with transforming the Scottish insurance group, founded by his father Michael in 1967, from a small business in the west of Scotland to a UK-wide group employing more than 1,000 staff.