Expanding Financial Planner and wealth manager Fairstone has acquired £450m FUM Essex-based IFA Sacre Associates.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is the third for Fairstone this year so far.

Sacre’s 12 advisers and 19 support staff will join Fairstone, bringing 1,200 clients with them.

Steve Rainer, principal at Sacre, said the deal with Fairstone appealed due to the regulatory landscape becoming increasingly complex.

He said: “In an ever-changing regulatory landscape which includes the most recent requirements in relation to Consumer Duty, running a directly authorised regional advice firm was becoming increasingly time consuming and onerous.

“We talked to a number of businesses before deciding to join Fairstone as we wanted to feel completely confident that we were joining a firm that mirrored our ethos and who would protect our clients and team for the long term.”

Fairstone said the acquisition will create a foundation for further acquisitions in the region.

Lee Hartley, CEO at Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sacre Associates to the Fairstone family. Their innovative approach, unwavering commitment to exceptional client service and focus on developing internal talent make them the perfect partner for us.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the team at Sacre, investing both capital and resource into the business, as we continue to increase our footprint across the Home Counties, an area of high net worth and significant opportunity for expansion.

“The collective power of Sacre’s local expertise and reputation and our national infrastructure and status will enable us to achieve our shared vision for strategic growth and success.”

In March Fairstone acquired £200m FUM Lincolnshire Chartered Planner firm MT Financial Management. 

Fairstone is one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms. It has over 40 locations across the UK with a head office in Newcastle and a City office. It oversees £14bn in FUM for over 45,000 wealth clients.