The transaction took financial advisors by surprise, with many saying that they had no idea the business was for sale.

Through L&P Group, which has offices in Dublin and Manchester, Lamont advises religious orders in Ireland and overseas on how to manage their considerable assets. He is a nephew of Bishop Donal Lamont, who was a household name in the 1970s for his support for majority rule in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

The deal with Invesco is limited to L&P's pensions, actuarial and personal financial services business.

Lamont is retaining ownership of the firm's charitable trusts and religious congregations consultancy.

Announcing the acquisition to his clients last Friday, McGarry said Invesco was now one of the top locallyowned pensions and employee benefits consultancies.

"This development will be of benefit to the clients of both firms and will enable the combined group, with 55 employees and trading as Invesco Limited, to offer a significantly enhanced range of services and resources to our clients, " he said.

Before setting up Invesco in 1991, McGarry was head of pensions at Goodbody Stockbrokers and a senior consultant with Irish Pensions Trust.

The employee benefits business is increasingly dominated by big multinational consultancies such as Mercer, Watson Wyatt and Hewitt.