Fairstone, one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, has completed the acquisition of Hampshire-based Cube Financial Planning under its downstream buy out (DBO) acquisition model.

Eight firms have joined the DBO programme so far this year.  

Based in Romsey, Hants, Cube Financial Planning is a whole-of-market advice firm specialising in advice and management of investment and retirement portfolios.

The acquisition brings an additional 153 clients into the group together with Cube’s two advisers and one support staff.

The acquisition also brings gross fee income of £800,000 for Fairstone together with funds under management of over £150m.

Lee Hartley, CEO of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisition of Cube Financial Planning, having worked closely with them throughout the integration phase.

“The team are a strong cultural fit for Fairstone, with high quality individuals who really care and put clients at the heart of what they do.

“Within Fairstone, we work hard to ensure our proposition gives firms the framework they need to significantly grow their businesses, without compromising on client service or independence. Finalising this deal with Cube marks a valued addition to our group and continues our scheduled growth plan for 2020.”

Company principals at Cube Financial Planning, Mike Godfrey and Neil Emburey, said that a major factor in the firm joining Fairstone was to enable the team to focus their energy on clients, while Fairstone handled the operational, regulatory and administrative aspects.

Mr Godfrey said: “Continuing to deliver a first-class service to our clients, whilst coping with the challenges of ever-increasing regulatory change, is a key priority for us, so joining forces with one of the largest Chartered Financial Planning firms in the UK makes very good sense.”

Fairstone is headquartered in Newcastle and has over 69,000 clients and operates over 42 locations. It has fee income in excess of £65m.

In September the Chartered Financial Planner group reported 22% growth in recurring income in 2019. The acquisitive firm, in its annual results for 2019, reported that recurring income in the year rose to £41.5m (£34.1m in 2018), 65% of advisory revenue. Funds under management in 2019 increased by 12.5% to £8.1bn.