Cranfield brings £196m funds under management - representing Bellpenny’s biggest deal so far this year. It has not been disclosed how much the company paid for the takeover.

This takes the total number of acquisitions since it launched in 2012 to 29.

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Dominic Rose, Bellpenny’s acquisitions director, said: “We are thrilled that another high-quality business has decided to merge their clients into Bellpenny.

“We pride ourselves on providing a well-organised, client centric acquisition and integration process.

“As with every business owner we deal with, the Cranfield team is relying on us to build on their hard work in helping clients plan and manage their financial futures.

”Cranfield is our largest acquisition of the year so far and we will be making further announcements shortly as we continue to grow by acquiring like-minded businesses. All this underlines that it’s full steam ahead for Bellpenny following last week’s chief executive succession plan announcement.”

Bill Brown, managing director of Cranfield Financial Services, said: “Credit to Bellpenny for developing a clear, flexible and compelling proposition. My fellow shareholders and I were particularly impressed that the interests of our clients and their future wellbeing were seen as paramount when negotiating the terms of the sale”.

On Friday, Nigel Stockton was named as the incoming chief executive.

Mr Stockton has been a director of Bellpenny since inception and was closely involved in its formation. He is currently the financial services director at Countrywide, an estate agency and property services group.

National wealth manager Bellpenny, owned by Oaktree Capital Management, announced the changes as part of plans for a board and senior management restructure.

The changes are expected to take effect in September.