Johannesburg, 9 November 2026 | As part of its diversification and growth strategy, Merchant West Holdings has acquired a controlling stake in the FPM Group of companies. The transaction is effective from 1 April 2026.

Merchant West is one of South Africa’s largest privately owned specialist financial services groups, operating across South Africa, Namibia, Isle of Man and Mauritius. The group provides a comprehensive range of specialist financial services across three core areas of Finance, Invest and Insure.

Founded in 1988, FPM Group is an established South African financial services group with a key strength in its short-term insurance brokerage, providing tailored cover for individuals and businesses through specialist risk advice, claims assistance and long-standing relationships with clients and insurers. Alongside this, FPM offers wealth and investment planning, retirement solutions and employee benefits. Its focus on personalised, specialist advice has earned it a respected presence in the South African financial services market.

“The risks our clients carry are growing more complex, and a standard policy rarely accounts for all of them. They need advice from specialists who understand their business,” says Braam Viljoen, founder and CEO of Merchant West Group.

“Wayne and his team have built FPM on that kind of expertise, one client relationship at a time. We have built Merchant West the same way. Our clients can now protect what they have built within the same group that helped finance it.”

“The value of a good business lies in what it becomes over time and in whose hands it is placed,” says Wayne Visser, founder and Group Managing Director. “We welcome Merchant West as the majority shareholder into our business and we are excited about being part of a bigger group that shares our respect for expertise and for the people it serves. Continuity matters in any long term relationship. Nothing changes as far as service, advice and client relationship is concerned, therefore clients will continue to deal with the same people they have come to know, now supported by the depth and reach of Merchant West.”

The acquisition establishes short-term insurance as a dedicated offering within Merchant West, and the group intends to extend the service to clients across its divisions.