Davy buys Danske clients in North

Davy has further expanded its wealth management business in the North by acquiring part of Danske Bank’s wealth unit for a sum believed to be between £5m (€5.65m) and £10m.

It marks the rapid expansion of Davy in both Dublin and Belfast beyond its traditional focus on Irish stock and bond market trading, although its role as promoter to the Government in the AIB shares sale shows equity sales remains a profitable area.

In the North, it previously bought wealth management firms Square Seven Financial Planning in 2014, and subsequently purchased Graham Corry Cheevers, which had £230m in assets under management and 2,500 customers. Last year, it acquired over £600m in assets when it bought pensions advisory firm PFC in Belfast and its 4,000 customers.

Davy has not ruled out further acquisitions across Ireland but the main focus may likely switch to acquiring wealth management firms in Britain which could be managed out of its Belfast offices.

In the Republic, Davy went through rapid change when it bought part of the Bloxham’s private clients operations after the collapse of the broker five years ago.

The Danske business is part of the wealth management business that Northern Bank first set up many decades ago. Davy said that Danske had also designated Davy Private Clients UK as “its preferred referral partner for private banking customers seeking investment options over a certain level”. The acquisition means Davy will have over €14bn in assets under management. It has 660 staff, including 65 in the North.