Fairstone, one of the UK’s largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, has boosted its footprint in the North West with the acquisition of Octagon Wealth Management.

The purchase for an undisclosed sum is the seventh this year by Newcastle-based Fairstone and adds to the business gross fee income of £1.1m and £150m in funds under management.

Octagon Wealth Management specialises in the management of investment and retirement portfolios and  is based in Burscough, near Ormskirk.

The acquisition, using Fairstone’s ‘Downstream Buy Out’ (DBO) process of gradual integration, will bring 800 clients, four advisers and five support staff.

Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone, said: “We are delighted to complete the final acquisition of Octagon, having worked closely with them through our proprietary DBO programme.

“Finalising this deal with Octagon brings another valued business into Fairstone and continues our excellent growth plan for 2019. We have every faith that in Rick and Jon we have found long-term business partners who will play a key role in the next part of our journey.”

The principals at Octagon Wealth Management are Richard Hollington and Jon Routledge.

Richard Hollington said: “Whilst we have been integrated into the Fairstone family for over two years now, by being fully absorbed into one of the largest Chartered Financial Planning firms in the UK, our clients can be even more confident that we will be there for them for the long term.”

Fairstone operates from 48 locations and has fee income of over £65m. It has acquired or absorbed 43 firms since 2011. It employs 560 advisers and staff, looking after 59,000 clients and oversees £10.8bn in client funds.