New York insurance broker NFP has acquired Dublin financial advisory firm, Simon Shirley Advisors, its fourth acquisition in Ireland during the past two years.
NFP’s previous buys were HMP Insurance and Pensions Advisors, Aiken Insurance and ReSure Corporate Brokers.
Simon Shirley Associates (SSA) is a boutique financial advisor firm, owned and led by founder and CEO Simon Shirley.
SSA advises companies on employee benefits and pensions, and also has a private client business.
Simon Shirley (49) established the business in 2009. As of December 2021, SSA’s funds under advice amounted to over €180m.
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SSA’s net worth in December 2021 was €1.4m, including €1.1m in balance sheet cash. The company employed eight people last year and booked a net profit of €356,000.
The entire SSA team will join NFP, including Shirley, who will take the lead role in building NFP’s wealth management business in Ireland.
“As the Irish economy continues to flourish, we see the employee benefits and wealth management sectors providing a large growth opportunity,” commented Matt Pawley, managing director, UK and Ireland, for NFP.
“With this latest acquisition of Simon Shirley Advisors, we are building scale, with a terrific base of clients and talent from which to continue developing and growing our presence in the market.
“Simon and his team bring a breadth and depth of experience in the Irish market, particularly around employee benefits and working with high net-worth individuals.”
Simon Shirley stated: “NFP is the perfect partner for us. This acquisition is based around existing symmetries in the businesses where growth is the primary driver.
“By integrating with NFP we will have even more resources and support to serve clients, grow our business and invest in our employees. It is an exciting next step for Simon Shirley Advisors and our like-minded partner NFP.”
According to Renatus, Simon Shirley took legal counsel from Bryan Sweeney and Colm Shalvey in JR Sweeney LLP, and tax advice from Kate Prendiville in Baker Tilly.
NFP’s legal adviser was a Flynn O’Driscoll team comprising Cian O’Leary, Aonghas Keane, Jonathan O’Beirne and Zoe Boland. Cormac Doyle in Crowe Ireland provided the acquirer with tax counsel.
NFP indicated that In time the SSA business will be integrated under the NFP brand. In the short term, Simon Shirley Advisors will continue to operate under its existing name and there will be no immediate change for customers.
Based in New York, NFP has 6,900 global employees and is the fifth largest benefits broker by global revenue.
