Wales Deals, Technology Stephen Farrell

A Cardiff-based online investment service has sold a majority stake to insurance giant Aviva, with the deal set to support its ambitious growth plans.

Aviva has agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Wealthify Group Ltd, the holding company of Wealthify.

Wealthify was co-founded in 2014 by Welsh entrepreneur Dr Richard Theo and Michelle Pearce, a former wealth manager from Guernsey.

It was launched in April 2016 having secured £3m in funding, including £1.8m from a crowdfunding campaign that attracted more than 760 investors. The business also received £143,000 from the Welsh Government.

Kevin Hughes, the co-founder and former finance and marketing director at Gocompare, has mentoring the senior management team, having also previously invested in the business.

Aviva's investment is expected to support Wealthify's business development, helping to accelerate its future growth plans.

The investment is part of Aviva's strategy to build customer loyalty by providing customers with a wide range of insurance and investment services, all managed through its digital hub, MyAviva.

Richard Theo, co-founder and chief executive of Wealthify, said: "It's with great excitement that we're announcing the partnership with Aviva today. This significant investment in the emerging 'robo' market, by one of the world's largest and most recognised financial services brands, is validation of the vision we set out to achieve three years ago to change investing for the better. Aviva's investment and access to their millions of UK customers gives us confidence that we can become the leader in this market in the UK and beyond.

"We are particularly proud that our business was born in Cardiff, home to a thriving financial services, software and start-up eco-system, which benefits enormously from the Welsh Government's vision to position Cardiff and Wales as one of the UK's leading locations for fintech and entrepreneurs.

"The capital investment from Aviva will be used primarily to accelerate our ambitious growth plans as well as develop our technology to enhance the proposition."

Blair Turnbull, managing director, Aviva UK Digital, added: "Wealthify combines a smart management team with great technology and a start-up culture. Together with the brand and financial strength of Aviva, we are very excited about the future opportunity, making Wealthify available to Aviva customers through the convenience of our MyAviva online and App experience."

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.