KGC’s Lesley Carline, Kim Gubler and Hayley Mudge
Independent Governance Group (IGG) has acquired pensions consultancy KGC Associates in a bid to strengthen its ability to deliver a broader range of governance services to clients.
The professional trustee and governance services firm said KGC's services are "well complemented" by IGG's trustee and governance expertise – noting the deal would expand IGG's capability to deliver end-to-end solutions that achieve good governance and optimal outcomes for members, an area where it said demand from employers and scheme trustees remains strong.
KGC has been providing independent evaluation and operational governance services including benchmarking, market review, operational governance and management consulting to a range of pension schemes for more than two decades.
KGC will operate as an independent brand under IGG's ownership and the KGC team will all retain their positions following the deal – with managing director Kim Gubler and director Lesley Carline continuing with their client facing roles, and head of research Hayley Mudge maintaining her leadership of the business's research function.
IGG chief executive Andrew Bradshaw said: "I am very pleased to welcome Kim, Lesley and Hayley to the IGG group. The first-class reputation they have built within the industry is based on deep expertise, while their focus on independent evaluation and operational governance services is a natural fit for our existing offering. Bringing KGC into the IGG group will allow us to offer our clients more of the governance services they are asking us for, from an established team of industry experts."
KGC director Lesley Carline agreed: "The pensions landscape is fast evolving with increased regulation, market consolidation, and the advent of new technology driving demand for quality operational governance. We're already playing our part in shaping how the industry responds to this with our evidence-based insights and solutions, but we want to go further. We're looking forward to making the most of IGG's network of offices across the UK to bring the KGC approach to even more clients."
The move is the latest acquisition by IGG since it was formed through as a result of a merger between Ross Trustees and Independent Trustee Services in 2023.
The firm's acquisitions have included those of Clarity Trustees; creative communications and employee engagement agency Like Minds; as well as oversight and selection specialists IC Select.
The deal also follows recent senior hires for IGG. Hatty Goodwin joined in September as trustee director and head of risk transfer, and Jeremy Petty joined in October as director to lead Like Minds.
Mid-market private equity firm ECI Partners took a stake in IGG last year in a deal that represented an initial exit for Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity firm that first invested in Ross Trustees, one of the two trustee firms that later merged to form IGG, in 2000.
ECI Partners said IGG would continue to evaluate complementary acquisition opportunities to accelerate its successful organic growth strategy and further deepen its talent pool.
ECI partner Michael Butler said: "The acquisition of KGC to the IGG portfolio will further enhance its governance offering, allowing IGG to offer truly end-to-end governance services. Furthermore, bringing Kim, Lesley and Hayley into the IGG fold also strengthens the bench of experts within the business – an area where IGG already stands out as a business prioritising breadth and depth of industry expertise. We look forward to continuing to support the IGG growth story, through this acquisition and beyond."
