A Chartered Financial Planner has told Financial Planning Today he has rejected several approaches to buy his business after a takeover deal by Standard Life’s 1825 fell through.

1825, launched last year, announced the acquisition of Almary Green for an undisclosed fee in March. It was revealed in mid-September that the agreement had collapsed.

Almary Green, set up in 2001 by Mr Lamb, said at that time it would continue in its current format as a privately owned company.

Asked by FP Today about other possible deals for a takeover, Mr Lamb said: “I’ve had several approaches already but have turned them down.”

He said: “We are certainly not actively looking for another buyer. I feel reinvigorated to grow the business again with me at the helm.

“I’m not ruling out a future deal at some point and will always talk to other parties, but I don’t see it happening in the foreseeable future.”

Asked about the reasons for the deal not going ahead, he said: “I won’t be adding to what I said at the time – that it didn’t prove possible for us to reach agreement so we mutually agreed to end the discussions. I’m so proud of everything that we have achieved with Almary Green.

“I’m committed to driving the business forward and remain focused on delivering a high quality service to our clients.”

Mr Lamb said he was determined that 2017 would be a year of growth for the firm.

He said: “We will explore all possibilities to grow the business both organically and through the acquisition of other firms. We are certainly looking to expand our advice team and are actively looking for the right people.

The Financial Planning profession is “still facing up to huge challenges, particularly in respect of the cost of regulation”, Mr Lamb said.

He said: “There is a need to spread the burden of the FSCS more fairly across the industry. In order to achieve this fairness and transparency, some kind of product levy is needed. I’m not advocating that product providers bear the whole burden – the advice sector must contribute too – but some of the funding must come from a product levy too.

“Unless there are major reforms to the way the FOS/FSCS are funded, we are going to lose more firms from the sector, so the market will constrict further.”

He said: “The one change I would make at the FCA is not about a change in regulation, but rather a change in the make-up of the FCA itself. I would like to see a working advice practitioner on the FCA board – a member of the advice community who has the experience of the sector’s challenges at grass-roots level.”