Key Retirement Solutions has announced the sale of a majority stake of the KRS Group of companies to Phoenix Equity Partners.

The private equity fund is investing along with Key Retirement’s management team of chief executive Colin Taylor, managing director Paul Wilson and group directors Dean Mirfin and Richard Overson.

The deal, which sees previous investor Cabot Square Capital sell its stake after six years, is subject to regulatory approval.

The move is aimed at fulfilling the firm’s expansion plans, which include potential new product launches and possible acquisitions building on recent deals that have included the launch of a home buying and selling service Key Move Property Services.

Taylor said: “Since launch KRS has worked tirelessly to improve the level of financial advice available to those approaching or in retirement. We are excited about partnering with Phoenix, a firm with considerable experience of investing successfully in the retirement segment of financial services, to continue to build KRS into the trusted brand for the over 55s.”

Sandy Muirhead, a managing partner at Phoenix, added: “We believe KRS represents a highly attractive platform from which to develop a broader retirement services proposition. We have strong knowledge of this sector, by virtue of our highly successful previous investment in Partnership Assurance, which we created in 2005, and we look forward to working with the KRS management team to build another leading business in this sector.”