Fairstone says the deal completes the purchase of the company following a period within Fairstone’s downstream buy out (DBO) programme which is designed to allow financial advisory businesses to move from close links to Fairstone to acquisition by the company. It is the fourth acquisition Fairstone has made in 2017.
The deal will bring revenue of £1.1 million to Fairstone and funds under management of approximately £160 million as well as 800 clients. The three advisers and five support staff at Professional Partners, a Chartered Financial Planning firm, have worked with Fairstone to ensure a “smooth transition” for clients.
Professional Partners offers personal and corporate financial advice tailored to clients and their family or business. Professional Partners was launched 27 years ago and manages the financial affairs of 800 clients.
Professional Partners’ principals, Fraser Thomson and Fraser McPhate, said in a statement: “We wanted to join a progressive, national company which will help us to strengthen our business whilst allowing us to remain independent and further improve the levels of service to our clients. This was always our objective and will remain so.
“Over the years, we have created a service which has supported our clients through career development, family Financial Planning, retirement and beyond. We enjoy helping clients achieve their financial goals and pride ourselves on providing a holistic and tailored personal service with a view to developing long term client relationships.”
Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone Group, said: “Professional Partners have been advising clients for over 27 years and in common with Fairstone, is dedicated to quality service. The whole team are consummate professionals and have a shared ambition to grow the business – through this acquisition we are delighted to have secured such a strong presence in Glasgow and across the wider region. We have always believed that clients should never be commoditised and throughout the acquisition process clients have remained the priority.
“Uncertainty over pensions and the future of Brexit negotiations means that people will need quality financial advice more than ever. As one of the largest Chartered Financial Planning companies in the UK, Fairstone will bring its marketing support and technology to bear to ensure that Professional Partners can offer their bespoke, whole-of-market advice to an ever-growing client base.”
Fairstone, based in Newcastle upon Tyne with offices in London and Bristol, has annual revenue of nearly £45m. It has 300 advisers and 60 staff and more than 41,000 clients. It oversees £7.5bn of client assets with £4.5 billion of FUM.