Private equity firm AnaCap has completed its acquisition of adviser platform company Novia for an undisclosed fee.

On 30 June long-time Novia CEO Bill Vasilieff (pictured) will be replaced in the role by Patrick Mill. He will join the firm from Wealthtime, where he has been CEO since AnaCap acquired the firm in December 2019.

Mark Winlow has been appointed chairman of the board. He has held previous non-executive director roles at Ageas and Starling Bank. 

AnaCap's head of private equity and partner Peter Cartwright and managing director Robert Massey will both be appointed to Novia's board. Ken Fry, Jane Dale and Dominic Easton will all also join Novia's board from AnaCap. 

Dale will chair Novia's audit and risk committee, while Easton will take on the role of chief financial officer. Keith Furniss will take over from Paul Boston as director of sales on 30 June. All the appointments are subject to regulatory approval. 

John Beaumont, David Royds and Paul Parry have all stepped down from the Novia board with immediate effect.

Outgoing Novia CEO Bill Vasilieff said: "The substantial investment and operational expertise that AnaCap bring will be instrumental in taking the business forward, ensuring we are well-positioned to accelerate growth, build on service propositions and capture an increased market share. The whole Novia team is absolutely delighted to be part of this dynamic organisation and looking forward to the next chapter in its development."

Incoming CEO Patrick Mill said: "Novia have a formidable reputation in the market for platform innovation as well as for the first-class service which is appreciated by advisers. I am absolutely delighted to be joining the leadership team and am looking forward to building on the strong foundations already in place as we seek to drive the business forward to the next stage of its growth trajectory."

The purchase, subject to regulatory approval, means AnaCap has now acquired more than £10bn of assets under management (AUM) in the sector. In December 2019 last year, AnaCap bought Wealthtime and in July 2020 it acquired Amber Financial Investments.

There have been a number of other adviser platforms snapped up by private equity houses in recent years. James Hay was bought by Epiris, which is in turn now purchasing rival platform Nucleus, while Parmenion was bought by Preservation Capital Partners for £102m.

First published by our sister title Professional Adviser