The founder of an asset management company, set up in a back bedroom 19 years ago, says its success has gone beyond his wildest dreams after reaching the point of overseeing £385m worth of assets.

Wilmslow-based Equilibrium Asset Management said today it has smashed its targets after securing £80m worth of new assets to manage over the past 12 months - £15m higher than forecast.

The company has had two record breaking years, growing its assets under management by £150m and its client base by 180.
Colin Lawson, founder and managing partner of Equilibrium, said: "Never in my wildest dreams when I set up Equilibrium in my back bedroom 19 years ago did I ever imagine we would be overseeing £385m worth of assets for a client base of 580.
"I put our success down to good old fashioned business values and our fantastic team of staff, which has grown by a third in the past 12 months."

{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}

The firm provides personalised management to investors principally with portfolios worth £1million plus.
Mr Lawson said: "I'm proud to say that Equilibrium, after a 1% fee has delivered a return of 8.17% on our balanced model portfolio for clients from 1 September 2013.
"We've now set down the gauntlet to secure an additional £67m worth of assets over the next year.
"An important part of our growth strategy will be to launch our own range of in-house funds to further enhance our service to clients."
The North West business was ranked amongst the top five wealth management firms in the UK by the Financial Times Private Client Wealth Management Survey.