2019 saw Octopus buy Seccl while it was still in the pre-market, giving it solid financial support and enabling it to increase its investment in technology. Since then, the company has created several digital tax wrappers and custody and investment products that are API-based for the savings and pensions industry.

David Ferguson, who was the founder and CEO of Nucleus Financial Group, an Edinburgh-based financial adviser platform that had £20 billion in assets under administration (AUA) before being acquired for £145 million, joined Seccl as its new CEO in 2022.

After leading the company from its modest beginnings in a garden shed to where it is now, Harvey says the company is in strong hands. "I started Seccl with the belief that change was desperately needed," he adds. "It feels the right time to step away." With David at the helm and a seasoned senior team that has now become well-integrated, I am certain that the company is in capable hands and will only become stronger.

Seccl's chair and board member of Octopus Group, Ruth Handcock, refers to the company as a "once-in-a-generation business".

"Octopus was convinced of its potential back in 2019 when we first acquired the business - and is all the more convinced today, after watching the company continue to grow from strength to strength over the past four years," she states. "The company is perfectly positioned to win with David at the helm, supported by the executive team that he has built over the last year or so—and we at Octopus are with them for the journey."