Consolidation continues

The consolidation trend within financial services looks set to continue as activity within the partly Zurich owned Lonsdale and Bridgeport groups pick up pace.

While Bridgeport Advisers and Asset Managers executive director Robert M C Brown was away interstate last week, Lonsdale's non-executive director Andrew Wheeler says the Lonsdale Group is currently checking out options.

"We are looking closely at the options and hopefully should be in a position to make a decision in the next couple of weeks," Wheeler says.

He says members from the groups 80 firms have been kept up to speed and informed of possible proceedings, but Wheeler was not divulging anything further.

The announcement of a consolidator arm for the businesses would closely follow that of the Challenger International owned Garrisons Accounting Group early this year, as well as Professional Investment Services' (PIS) Professional Accountants Ltd (PAL).

The PAL network was set up last November in response to approaches by other consolidators to PIS accountant members. PAL managing director Grahamee Evans says the division has made one major acquisition so far, and is in the process of signing a heads of agreement with the second.

Evans says PAL is also finalising the prospectus for its internal offering, which will be distributed to the networks 300 groups and detail the range of services on offer.

Also on offer is the Friendly Investor Service, where PAL takes an equity position in a group of up to 49 per cent.

Evans says a survey sent to practices early this year indicates a strong response to the outlined services, which are due to be completed by July 1, 2001.

"We expect a majority of accountants in the network will take at least one of the services we have to offer," Evans says.