Loyal North, the UK nationwide wealth platform, today announced two senior appointments to support the next phase of its growth strategy.
Patrick Goulding joins as Group Managing Director with a remit covering business scaling and group operational optimisation and integration. Keith Brown joins as Senior Adviser, Acquisitions, working closely with Group Acquisitions & Integrations Director Debbie Dry on the Loyal North’s next wave of IFA acquisitions.
These appointments follow Loyal North’s recent refinancing, which has secured funding to materially step up acquisition activity over the next two to three years.
Patrick brings more than three decades of senior experience across wealth and investment management. Originally qualifying as a chartered accountant with PwC, he went on to hold senior and managing director roles at Schroders, ING and Morgan Stanley. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive of Kingswood, the AIM-listed wealth management group, where he led the firm’s acquisition and integration programme — scaling assets under management to approximately £6 billion and overseeing a network of 120+ financial advisers. Following sale, Patrick supported the shareholders of One Four Nine Group, another UK IFA consolidator, through the initial phase of its buy-and-build strategy.
At Loyal North, Patrick will work closely with the group’s financial advisory businesses, with a particular focus on acquisition integration, process transformation, and adviser-led growth.
Patrick Goulding, Group Managing Director of Loyal North, said:
“I am delighted to join Kirill and the Loyal North team at this critical stage of their growth journey”. I have long admired their disciplined approach, and the measured way they have built their platform. I look forward to partnering with the advisers across the network to further drive business optimisation and support the platform’s next stage of scaled growth”.
Keith brings 36 years of experience in financial services. He began his career as a financial adviser in 1990 and founded his own IFA practice in 1996, later becoming Managing Director in 2003 following a merger, during which the combined firm completed several bolt-on acquisitions. In 2009, he joined Succession Group, one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent wealth management businesses at the time, where he held senior management and board positions, including Group Training Director, National Operations Director and Head of Business Development. During his time at Succession, he was part of the team that delivered more than 50 acquisition and integration projects, with strategic responsibility for planning and implementing integration activities.
At Succession, Keith worked closely with Debbie Dry, Loyal North’s Group Acquisitions & Integrations Director, and the two later co-founded Wealth Holdings. Keith’s appointment reunites them at Loyal North.
More recently, Keith has run his own M&A brokerage and advisory consultancy, working with IFA principals to build and realise value in their businesses, which he successfully exited.
Keith Brown said:
“I am honoured to join Loyal North at such a pivotal time for the company. I look forward to working with the talented team, building on the excellent work they have completed and helping drive their ambitious plans, and deliver exceptional value and growth for all our partners.”
Strategic context
These appointments come as Loyal North accelerates its buy-and-build strategy following a recent refinancing and the acquisition of MPB Financial Planning. The group currently operates 13 offices across the UK, with 35+ advisers and managing circa £2 billion in client assets. Its acquisition strategy combines regional hub transactions with complementary bolt-on deals.
Kirill Ilinski, Group CEO of Loyal North, said:
“Patrick and Keith join us at a pivotal moment for Loyal North. Patrick’s experience of building, scaling and integrating UK wealth management businesses at material scale is exactly the leadership profile we need as we move into the next phase of growth. Keith brings deep, hands-on experience of what it takes to acquire, integrate and grow IFA businesses successfully, and will be a strong addition to Debbie Dry and the acquisitions team. With the refinancing now complete, these appointments will help drive our ambition to materially grow the Loyal North platform over the coming 24 months.”
