NFP Ireland is set to acquire Metis Ireland, a financial planning firm for wealthy individuals once half-owned by Davy, in a deal valued at approximately €15 million. Founded in Limerick in 2014, Metis provides financial planning and wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and families, currently managing about €700 million for clients.

The Irish Times reported that Davy acquired a 50 per cent stake in Metis in 2019, though management and staff bought back the holding in 2023, a year after Bank of Ireland purchased Davy following the stockbroking firm being hit by a Central Bank fine.

A spokesman for NFP Ireland declined to comment, whilst Metis managing director and co-founder Carl Widger did not respond to calls and messages.

New York-based insurance broker and wealth management firm NFP, part of professional services group Aon, entered the Irish market in 2020 through the purchase of HMP Insurance and Pension Advisors. The company has since completed nine further deals, including Aiken Insurances, ReSure Corporate Brokers, HC Financial, and last year, the HR Suite.

The wider Irish market has seen a flurry of deals in the past five years as it followed waves of consolidation in the UK and North America. The ultimate backers of many purchasing vehicles are private equity firms.

Other leading consolidators include UK-owned and private equity-backed Fairstone Ireland and Howden Ireland, alongside Irish family-owned companies such as LHK Group, SYS Financial, and Gallivan Financial.

Gallivan Financial, owned by the Killarney-based Gallivan family, earlier this month sealed its sixth acquisition in two years, bringing total assets under management and advice to more than €1.3 billion.

Follow the full story on NFP Ireland's acquisition strategy and Ireland's rapidly consolidating wealth management sector.