Two advice firms have been bought by Succession Group for a total of £4m as part of plans to create the UK’s largest independent wealth management business.

Paul Jones Financial Services in Southampton and Equity Invest in Wimbledon have been acquired from Succession’s affiliated membership, taking the number of businesses acquired in 2017 to date to four.

The takeovers are among the first since the untimely death of Succession's founder and CEO Simon Chamberlain last month.

Over the last three years, Succession has purchased 36 firms and plans to accelerate further acquisitions.

With offices in Southampton and the Isle of Wight, Paul Jones Financial Services began working with Succession in 2015.

Peter Viney, managing director of Paul Jones, said: “Maintaining client relationships is what we do best. With 40 years of financial services experience, we had reached a point where the regulatory and compliance onus on small businesses was increasingly detracting from our ability to serve clients well.”

He said: “Succession has a strong management team and its continued focus, expertise and professionalism were a significant factor in our decision to sell.

“As part of Succession Group, we will continue to focus on a risk-based investment approach which, along with cashflow forecasting, helps clients to gain financial vision and understand how we can best meet their personal objectives.

Richard Hunter, founder of Equity Invest said: "Our focus on ethical investing adds a new dimension for clients, and we are excited about contributing our ethical investment experiences within a large and successful national business. Like Succession, Equity Invest was founded on a client-centric ethic, and our choice to be acquired by Succession was significantly influenced by the wealth planning proposition and commitment to continued innovation”.

Paul Morrish, Succession’s group corporate director, said: “Succession Group is preparing for further substantial growth in 2017.”