A FAST-GROWING North East financial services firm has stepped up its bid to more than double its revenues with its first acquisition in the City of London.

South Tyneside-based Moneygate raised its profile and growth targets last year after securing multi-million- pound backing from an American company.

This saw it announce plans for a major acquisition spree and within the space of a few months it had made three takeovers.

Now it has landed its biggest deal to date with the acquisition of City-based IFA business Equus Independent Financial Management Ltd. Equus looks after the affairs of more than 10,000 high-net-worth individuals and has annual revenues of around £5m.

This will take Moneygate’s annual turnover to more than £12m and leaves it well-placed to grow to its target of over £35m by 2015.

Chief executive Lee Hartley said: “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition as it is a significant and strategic part of our build plan.

“We have been looking to make a City-based acquisition to build our London operation around.

“Equus is a fantastic business with a strong management team. We intend to support its growth through investment, the extension of our technology and marketing platform and also by leveraging our process capability to enhance efficiency.”