Fast-growing Chartered Financial Planning firm Fairstone has fully acquired Sims Financial Planning, marking the firm’s third acquisition of 2018.

Sims first joined North East-based Fairstone through its proprietary downstream buy out programme in July 2015 and completed its integration prior to the final purchase.
 
The deal brings total fee income of almost £500,000 to Fairstone and funds under management of more than £90m. Three Sims staff will also join Fairstone.
 
The company says that as the downstream buy out programme enters a more mature phase, more companies which have been “successfully integrated into Fairstone” will progress through to full acquisition.

Fairstone expects to make a total of nine such acquisitions during the course of the year.

The company vowed that clients will never face an increase to their charges as a result of the transaction and will have “no reduction in choice and face no product compulsion.”

Fairstone’s said that partner firms, which have completed the integration process, achieve an average of 15% organic growth per year.
 
Neil Sims, company principal at Sims Financial Planning, said: “We wanted to find a large, well established and professional firm which had the tools to support our advisory activities.

“Fairstone’s downstream buy out process has been a vital part of integrating successfully and it has ensured that there were no sudden shocks upon acquisition.

“We have enjoyed excellent support in all aspects of the business including investment management and compliance as well as specialist advice in areas such as mortgages and long-term care.”
 
Lee Hartley, chief executive of Fairstone Group, added: “It has been an excellent start to 2018 as we absorb further quality firms into the wider business.

“With our support in areas such as client activation, marketing, compliance and regulation we are able to help our partners achieve very significant levels of organic growth.

“Because of this, many ambitious DBO firms have received a higher valuation for their business on final acquisition than expected.”