Fairstone, which describes itself as one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, has acquired Pensions and Wealth Management Services, adding 400 clients and £200m FUM.

PWMS, which specialises in investment and retirement portfolios, has two offices; one in Harpenden, Hertfordshire and another in Burscough, West Lancashire.

The acquisition adds PWMS’s four advisers and four support staff to Fairstone as well as gross fee income of £1m.

Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisition with Pensions and Wealth Management Services.

“Both David and Robert Halsall, in common with all of their team, have been a joy to partner with and they really are first-class professionals in their field.

“PWMS has a reputation for excellent client service which makes the firm a strong cultural fit with Fairstone.

“This marks a great start to the year and reinforces our intent to partner with the highest-quality firms who share our culture as well as our commitment to ensuring client interests are never compromised as a result of a sale.”

David Halsall, principal at Pensions and Wealth Management Services, said: “Joining Fairstone allows us to concentrate on working with our long-standing clients, safe in the knowledge that we are part of a company which has clients as its main focus.

“We wanted to work with a Chartered business that believes in independence and whole-of-market choice.

“We felt that the Fairstone proposition was quite unique in its construct and provides an outstanding support framework which takes care of all the business quality and regulatory requirements.”

Fairstone has annual fee income of over £60 million and operates across 48 locations with a head office in Newcastle. The firm has 485 advisers and staff, acting for over 51,000 clients and overseeing £8.1 billion in Funds Under Advice.