Future of Portavista platform in doubt

The future of Bankhall’s Portavista platform has been thrown into fresh doubt after the support provider announced it would no longer use Capita’s Enabler technology to power it.

Bankhall managing director David Golder says Capita's decision in June to scale back investment in its Enabler programme prompted its verdict.

He says Bankhall, which along with PMS completed a merger with network giant Sesame last month, will now work closely with IFAs using the service "with a view to closing the current platform by the end of the first quarter of next year".

However, a source says Portavista remains a Bankhall brand and could potentially be retained, adding the issue will be discussed as part of Sesame Bankhall's future platform strategy.

"The long-term benefits of platforms in helping to drive greater efficiencies and profitability for the advice profession are compelling, which is why we regret having to take this action," Golder says.

"However, after several months of deliberation, we concluded that Capita's decision to radically scale back investment in the development of its Enabler technology meant that the original vision for Portavista underpinned by Enabler could no longer be realised."