The newly rebranded Tilney Group has begun its recruitment drive, as it again stressed its desire to find “highly skilled and professional Financial Planners”.

The changes were announced this week, reflecting the integration of Towry after the merger of the two companies in August 2016, officials said.

Tilney signalled a hiring spree was on the cards, as it announced the rebrand. It has revealed its first new recruit is Andy Brown as direct equity team leader in the central investment team.

“High calibre Financial Planners” are on the menu for bosses, who told Financial Planning Today: “We are looking to hire highly skilled and professional Financial Planners.”

Officials said there were no hard and set time scales but a recruitment drive had begun.

Mr Brown has over 30 years of investment experience, having worked as both a fund manager and a research analyst, latterly at Sanlam Securities UK where he covered the support services sector.

He began his career as an investment manager working for Lloyds Investment Managers and Hill Samuel Asset Management and he has covered a broad range of industries in equity research roles at Arbuthnot Securities, Panmure Gordon and N+1 Singer. He is an Associate of AIMR and member of CFA Institute.

He will report to Ben Seager-Scott, director of investment strategy & research, who said: “As one of the UK’s largest private client investment management businesses with over 120 investment managers across the UK, high quality research of both funds and single securities is a key component of Tilney’s investment proposition. We are therefore delighted that Andy has joined the growing Tilney team to help us meet this demand.”